by 
Brian Silvestry
Extell developement, the developer behind the One57 condo on Billionaire’s Row in Manhattan was able to secure financing to go ahead with their newest development on West 57th street. The building is a projected $4 billion sellout. With the market for super luxury slowing in the last couple years, one of the terms of the lenders is to have $500 million in sales by 2020. Central Park Tower will have 179 units and 20 of those units will be asking $60mm or more. The price per square foot will be just north of $7k psf.
The building will have a Nordstrom’s at it’s base and will rise 1550 feet.
Full Story
Due to the present credit crunch and slowdown of the Manhattan luxury real estate market, developers are finding it difficult to gain financing for their projects. Extell, the developer of One57 at 157 W 57th street, is working on what would be the tallest residential tower yet. At a cost of approximately $2 billion, Extell has already started construction on the lower floors but does not yet have the funds for the upper floors. So they are turning to the EB-5 visa program which allows a foreign national to invest $500,000 to $1million in exchange for a green card. This program is capped at 10,000 visas per year and is very popular with the Chinese. Many feel that the EB-5 program is being used contrary to it’s intent which was to spur construction and create jobs in poorer areas. The Central Park Tower will have a Nordstrom on the lower floors.
WSJ coverage
News about the NYC real estate residential and commercial markets provided and interpreted by an industry veteran licensed since 1999. Brian Silvestry of BSRG Inc. Licensed real estate broker