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I spent a day on NYC's Billionaires' Row. Here's your ultimate guide to one of the city's glitziest streets, which borders Central Park and is home to the most expensive apartment ever sold in the US.
I spent a day on NYC's Billionaires' Row. Here's your ultimate guide to one of the city's glitziest streets, which borders Central Park and is home to the most expensive apartment ever sold in the US.
In wealthy cities around the world, from New York to London to Los Angeles, a certain ritzy neighborhood or street is given an extravagant nickname: Billionaires' Row.
The term generally refers to a super-wealthy part of a city that's home to some of the world's richest people living in some of the world's most expensive homes.
In New York City, Billionaires' Row includes a set of eight ultra-luxury skyscrapers along the southern end of Central Park in Manhattan. The buildings were recently built or, in some cases, are still under construction.
"I like to define Billionaires' Row as New York City's Monopoly board for uber-wealthy international and domestic titans of industry who come together here to work, play, and do lots and lots of shopping," Alexander Glibbery of Compass told me.
Indeed, Billionaires' Row is just a few blocks from the city's most glamorous shopping district: Fifth Avenue.
StreetEasy describes Billionaires' Row as "an enclave around 57th Street" that's "become a symbol of the city's increasingly stupendous riches."
The new towers at Billionaires' Row - some of which have not yet welcomed residents - have already seen record-breaking real-estate sales.
Billionaires' Row is the term for a collection of supertall luxury skyscrapers in New York City along the southern end of Central Park. The buildings are home to some of the most expensive residential real estate in the world. Some were recently finished, and others are still under construction.
These towers have seen record-breaking real-estate sales, including billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin's purchase of a $238 million penthouse earlier this year — the most expensive home ever sold in the US.
I walked around Billionaires' Row to check out eight of the newest, tallest, and most luxurious towers in New York City.
The borders of Billionaires' Row are not officially defined, but real estate agents described it to me as an area south of Central Park between 57th St. and 59th St., and between 8th Ave. and reaching as far east as 2nd Ave.
Three of the eight towers are on 57th Street, a bustling thoroughfare that includes some classic New York City destinations including the Russian Tea Room and Carnegie Hall.
I started my tour walking along 57th street from east to west. Here's a guide to the buildings you'll find on those blocks.
1. ) 111 W. 57th St., also known as "Steinway Tower."
The 86-story tower is made up of 60 condos, most of which are full-floor residences, and includes 20,000 square feet of amenities, including a lounge with a Steinway grand piano as the centerpiece.
Active listings at 111 W. 57th St. range from $18 million for a three-bedroom to $57 million for a four-bedroom penthouse, according to StreetEasy.
That record was broken in 2019 when billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin bought a $238 million penthouse in another Billionaire's Row tower, 220 Central Park South (more on that later).
According to Curbed, One 57 has been nicknamed the "Billionaire Building."
Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian and billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman are both known to have bought units in the tower.
Ackman, along with a few "very good friends, "bought a $91.5 million penthouse in the building in 2012, with the intention of flipping it rather than living in it, according to Curbed.
Current listings in the tower range from $3.85 million for a one-bedroom condo to $58.5 million for a full-floor residence on the 87th floor.
Height: 1,005 feet
Notable buyers: Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian, billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman
3.) 225 W. 57th St., also known as "Central Park Tower."
Central Park Tower, also called the Nordstom Tower, reached its 95th floor at the end of March 2019, surpassing 432 Park Ave. and making it the tallest residential building in New York City and — as it claims — the world. When completed, the tower will stand at 1,550 feet tall.
Sales in Central Park Tower launched in October 2018.
Central Park Tower is made up of 179 luxury units, 20 of which are priced at $60 million or more.
Gary Barnett, the founder of Extell Development, which is behind the building, told The Wall Street Journal in January that sales in the tower have been "decent," but no major transactions have yet been made public.
According to StreetEasy, there are no active listing at 220 Central Park South. But three condos are listed for rent, two three-bedrooms for $59,000 a month each, and another three-bedroom going for $60,000 a month.
The most expensive sale to date in the still-under-construction building just went into contract for $33.5 million, a publicist for the building told me.
53 W. 53rd St. is the southern-most tower of Billionaires Row.
Current listings range from $3.1 million up to $63.8 million for a penthouse, according to StreetEasy.
Estimated cost of construction: At least $450 million
8.) 252 E. 57th St.
252 E. 57th St. is a bit of an outlier from the rest of Billionaires' Row, when it comes to both location and height.
It tops out at only 712 feet tall, making it the shortest of the Billionaires' Row skyscrapers, and it sits farther east than any of the other towers.
But the level of luxury at the 65-floor building seem to have allowed 252 E. 57th St. to be a part of the exclusive Billionaires' Row club, with perhaps slightly lower prices.
Edward Seisdedos, a real estate broker at Compass, told me he's sold three apartments in the building totaling about $20 million.
"All of my clients saw tremendous value at 252 E 57th St. compared with everything on Billionaires' row and the entire city from 30 Park Place to Midtown and above," Seisdedos said.
Current listings in the building range from $4.45 million for a three-bedroom to $29.7 million for a penthouse, according to StreetEasy.