New looks at Crown Building’s ultraluxury condo conversion

There’s no shortage of over-the-top, high-priced condos in Manhattan, but one ultra-luxury project near the sky-piercing skyscrapers of Billionaires’ Row that has managed to fly somewhat under the radar.

The conversion of the landmarked Crown Building, located at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, has been underway for some time: Russian-born developer Vladislav Doronin bought the upper floors of the property (with developer Michael Shvo, who is no longer involved with the project) for around $500 million in 2015, and announced in 2017 that it’d be transformed into Aman New York, a hotel/condo hybrid that’s part of the larger Aman portfolio.

Courtesy of Aman

Information about the development has come out in dribs and drabs since then, but a new profile in the Wall Street Journal offers some juicy, concrete details about the project—most notably the fact that about close to half of its apartments, which start at $4.65 million, have already sold, despite not being publicly listed. (The developer has reportedly vetted every person interested in buying in the building, and a sales office is not open to the public.)

There are also new renderings, which show off the building’s opulent apartments—some of which will have private pools—and plush amenities, which will include, per the WSJ, “a ‘sky lobby’ with a wraparound terrace, a members club, a cigar bar, a piano bar, a ‘wine library,’ a subterranean members-only jazz club, and two other restaurants—a Mediterranean eatery called Arva and a Japanese one called Nama. A three-floor, 25,000-square-foot spa will have a 75-foot long pool, hot and cold plunge pools, fire pits, hammams, sauna and steam rooms, a salon, a juice bar and a gym.” (Phew.)

The condo portion of the development will have just 22 apartments, while the hotel will have 83 rooms. The apartments that have already sold, according to Doronin, include a $180 million penthouse in the building’s titular gilded crown, along with two apartments asking $72 and $73 million. The developer himself is reportedly eyeing an $83 million unit that has its own private pool and terrace.