Contested Upper West Side tower will have two $40M penthouses

A week after it topped out, a contested Upper West Side development, 200 Amsterdam, has revealed details on its most expensive penthouses, which will ask slightly over $40 million each, the Wall Street Journal first reported.

Both 6,325-square-foot penthouses have four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms. One of them will occupy the entire 49th and 50th floors, has 651 square feet of exterior space, and will come with views to Central Park, the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, and the Manhattan skyline. The other one occupies the 51st and 52nd floors and has 283 square feet of outdoor space.

The 52-story tower at 200 Amsterdam Avenue, developed by SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan America, has been opposed by advocacy groups and elected officials, who argue that it was built on an unlawfully crafted, “gerrymandered” lot. The tower will be located between 69th and 70th streets.

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The project was initially approved by the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals in 2018, but following a legal challenge by the Municipal Arts Society (MAS) and the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, a Supreme Court judge asked the BSA to reevaluate it in March. The BSA approved it again in June and opponents filed a new Article 78 challenge in July.

The building will have a total of 112 apartments ranging from one- to five-bedroom residences and eight full-floor ones aside from the two penthouses. Prices for the units start at $2.625 million for a one-bedroom. Some of the amenities the tower will offer include a complimentary yearlong Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts membership; a meditation room, pilates and yoga studio, a common terrace, and a children’s playroom inspired by Lincoln Center.

Developers said that the tower is expected to be completed in 2020.