Of all the buildings that could try to claim the "next 15 Central Park West" label, the most likely successor is 18 Gramercy Park. Not only is it also park-adjacent, but, as the Journal points out today, it has the same developers, Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf; the same architect, the one and only Robert A.M. Stern; and the same Israeli billionaire partner, Eyal Ofer. Hey, why tamper with a winning formula? And like its uptownier older sibling, 18 Gramercy Park's apartments?several of which already have buyers, Zeckendorf tells the Journal?come with billionaire-friendly price tags. A two-bedroom maisonette will start at $9.25 million, the average price is $17.5 million, and the priciest unit will be a five-bedroom duplex penthouse with two outdoor pools and a $42 million asking price.
Of course, folks who are going to pay $42 million for a penthouse have certain expectations, and the developers and Stern have been working to modify building layouts since buying the property, a former Salvation Army residence, for $60 million in 2010. The windows have been enlarged to nearly seven feet tall, by permission of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and some smaller rooms within units have been combined. The Stern-designed lobby is "Georgian-style?with a large oval plasterwork in the ceiling, a patterned stone floor and oak-paneled walls." Still, the ceilings are only 9 feet high, so where will the residents store their piles of cash? Perhaps we'll have an answer when the model unit opens in September.
· Zeckendorfs Swing for Hit at Another Park [WSJ]
· 18 Gramercy Park South [Curbed]
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