25 Feb 19 | Curbed New York

Central Park Tower architect calls building ‘respectful’ of NYC skyline

By Zoe Rosenberg

The 1,550-foot building will be one of the tallest in New York and among the most prominent on the skyline.

Extell Development Company’s crown jewel Central Park Tower is still in the process of courting buyers amid an inundation of luxury condos that the company’s own One57 kicked off. So how to set the uber-pricey apartments of the city’s tallest residential building apart from its competitors, some in the same portfolio? Focus on the architecture, of course.

Enter supertall tower architects Adrian Smith +Gordon Gill, who appear in a new promotional video put together by the Central Park Tower team to talk about the design behind the 1,550-foot-tall uber-luxury building.

The architects explain how the building’s cantilevered design maximizes its views by giving all north-facing apartments Central Park vistas. (Some might remember Extell’s contentious engagement with the Arts Students League, who voted to sell the developer its air rights for less than many-a single Central Park Tower apartment sells for now, in order to make the cantilever happen.)

The apartments also sit on top of a 320,000-square-foot seven-story Nordstrom flagship store, further boosting the height of CPT’s 179 condos. The building has been designed to maximize views internally, too, with structural elements tucked discretely between apartments allowing for floor-to-ceiling glass and large floor plates.

“We have taken the responsibility of designing such a prominent landmark in one of the world’s most famous skylines very seriously,” Smith says. “We believe we have created a building that’s respectful, bold, and refined, but promises to be one of the greatest places to live in New York.”

The video comes about a month after the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Extell founder Gary Barnett, in which Barnett said sales at Central Park Tower were “decent.” Yet Barnett was undeterred, telling the Journal, “[w]e’re certainly going through a dip in the market, but we’re priced for that dip.”

Sales at Central Park Tower publicly launched in October, with about 18 of its 179 condos priced above $60 million. The two- to eight-bedroom condos start on the building’s 32nd floor, and feature corner living spaces that serve to maximize views. Some apartments will also feature 1,500-square-foot grand salons with 12-foot ceilings.