Central Park Tower‘s crown lights began to illuminate for the first time this past weekend, an exciting harbinger of the imminent full completion of the 1,550-foot Midtown supertall. Located at 217 West 57th Street on Billionaires’ Row, the tower is designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and developed by Extell and stands as the tallest structure by roof height in the Western Hemisphere and the tallest residential building in the world. Corcoran Sunshine and Extell Marketing Group are leading sales for its 179 units and are anticipating a $4 billion sellout.
Photographs from Friday and Saturday nights show the vertical slats on the eastern elevation brightly lit with LEDs. Eventually all four sides of the crown will be illuminated.
Central Park Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Photos from Central Park’s southern end give a great perspective of the crown as its lights appeared to brighten with the dwindling twilight. A vertical strip toward the northeast corner of the crown still remains to be filled in with glass panels, and is one of the last such remaining gaps in the building’s curtain wall.
The lights are similar to those found on the northern crown face of Extell’s One57, giving the developer a cohesive look for two of its premier residential projects. The modern aesthetics of these emanating lights also contrast nicely with the classic spotlight-bathed crown of Robert A. M. Stern Architects’ 220 Central Park South on the western end of Billionaires’ Row.
Central Park Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Central Park Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Central Park Tower. Photo by Michael Young
From afar the crown still shines as a beacon, even with only one side illuminated.
Central Park Tower from a distance. Photo by Matt Pruznick
As for the rest of the superstructure, the exterior hoist’s disassembly is now reaching street level and workers have spared no time filling in the gap with the reflective glass panels. More of the protective blue film has been peeled off, with only minimal amounts left to be removed. We can also expect to see the scaffolding in front of the Nordstrom retail frontage disassembled in the coming months.
Central Park Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Central Park Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Residents will enter the property through a dedicated private lobby on West 57th Street, or through a secondary and more discreet access point along West 58th Street that comes with a gated valet entrance. The Central Park Club will be located on the 100th floor, making it the highest private residential club in the world, and is part of the building’s 50,000 square feet of amenities that are also spread across the 14th and 16th floors. Other amenities include an outdoor terrace with a swimming pool and cabanas for entertaining, a private screening room, a residents’ lounge, a tween game lounge on the 14th floor, a full-floor fitness and wellness center with a gym, a training room, a squash/basketball court, and spa treatment rooms on the 16th floor.
Homes come in two- to eight-bedroom layouts. They begin on the 32nd floor and range from 1,435 square feet to over 17,500 square feet. Resident-only services include in-home and in-club dining experiences, complemented by an exclusive Nordstrom partnership offering beauty and spa services, clinical skin care, personal stylists for wardrobes in the home and a variety of in-store perks, including advance access to new brands and collections, and priority access to invite-only events.
Central Park Tower should be completed sometime later this year.
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So I guess there isn’t going to be a ‘last second spire’ a la the Chrysler Building.
It seems Extell decided to abandon the gaudiness of One57 for a stretched, boring office box that happens to have extremely wealthy people inside. There’s no doubt Skyprick Row has forever changed the NYC skyline, and it will forever remind the minions on the ground that our political system has also been purchase by the occupants looking down on them.
Will only make One57 go down in value.
David from Bushwick:
Your comments are a valid departure from the usual I hate / I love this building cookie-cutter comments & mentality that is usually found on Yimby.
Your comments usually posit a social and economic framework from which the artictecture may arise, and which is an integral reason as to why and how that architecture exists. It’s part & parcel of that architecture, and the sytucture it creates. just as much as the steel beams that support it.
However, haven’t most political systems over the ages expressed the power of wealth with architectural edifices commissioned by kings & queens & popes & politicians and pharaohs–in order to awe the minions into believing that these rulering classes & castes are superior beings who have the divine right of power flowing in their blue blood, or rather, drained from the blood, sweat & tears of those they exploited, used , abused & cheated?
It’s not necessarily the political system being purchased that is inherently at fault. A genuine democracy of competing ideas and ideals, one that regulates free enterprise and prevents such a takeover is crucial, is a valuable option & means of self-government. But the first cause of a highjacked political system is the excessive wealth accumulated in a rigged economic rewards system, and the alternate power centers that it creates. That leads to social imbalance and gross inequality — which ultimately may be the downfall of that political system and social order, as it spins like a careening top-heavy top, to its demise.
Money doesn’t just talk, it screams and commands and ultimately destroys — a cosmic black hole that sucks in everything around it – if not reined in and tamed and used for achieving a more just social order, instead of fostering & reenforcing the excesses of just a few members of a society.
This is not the dreaded specter of devouring communism, or any other ism. Nor is it is a replacement for the crass authoritarianism of our rich American oligarchs. Nor is it a new form of the existing anarchism that shapes so much of our so-called free enterprise system. Instead, it is simply an effort to respect & foster & value the basic dignity, worth, and life of every human being (and to uphold many of the cherished ideals we claim to worship as a nation). It’s as American as apple pie, but all too often the powers that be want the whole pie, and it will ultimately be thrown back in their faces as a result.
David, as you rightfully curse the darkness and the dark forces around us, don’t give up on politics or America or Americans. There are plenty of people trying to make it better.
As Langston Hughes once said: Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. America needs doers inspired by their dreams to effect positive & creative change. Before it’s too late.
Good lord, shut up. This is an architecture website not an anarchist philosophy blog.
I couldn’t agree more.
Expectations of $4 billion in sales is not what the actual sales are. Most new developments sit on empty apartments for 5 to 8 years. Maybe the programmers from Bitcoin will buy the apartments but maybe not. How much did it cost to build? The article should detail upside and downside just in case of a bankruptcy filing given how the market has changed.
Lastest numbers from Extell’s Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filings. I wonder if Baupost will end up owning this?
In 2020, Extell estimated that it would cost a total of $3.1 billion to construct the property and would make $3.9 billion off it, for a total of $845 million in gross profits. But, back in 2018, Extell had estimated that it would cost $2.8 billion to build, and bring in $4.9 billion.
That $3.9 billion estimate is based off selling condos at a price of $5,750 per square foot and selling them all by the end of 2023. If prices fall further, or if the timeline is extended, leading to additional financing costs, the profits will be further eroded. None of the 179 units were closed as of the first quarter of 2021, per the report.
Cutesome tower that I want to hug this structure, really beautiful: Thanks to Michael Young.
WOW. I don’t ascribe to some of the previous righteous moralism. Its a very ambitious real estate development and business proposition. The Jetson’s kind of stuff, maybe. Literally plain and simple. Not evil. Not art. So what!
Excellent poetic structure there.
Well stated. It is what it is, a real estate development built when demand for apartments in the sky was thriving. Nothing more, nothing less.
Excess, Waste of resources, Greed, Depravity will this building’s legacy. Hopefully in the future we will build better with compassion and ecological sensitivity. This building and others like it are a life lesson on what not to do in service to humanity and not greed.
Disagree completely. Its not up to you to say what’s “waste” or “greed” when talking about other people’s money. IMO this tower is just fine. Only wish it was 300-400′ taller.
A big “Amen” to that! Too many faux-activists here. I just like tall buildings.
Actually the opposite. We live in a time where humanity needs to think about the future generations who will have to deal with the massive decline of our ecosystems and what gross negligence has done to our natural environment. Every person bears responsibility for this and making a smaller impact is the only choice left to avoid a coming calamity that just might be lessoned if we all make wise choices.
The purpose of this building is for the wealthy but really is an apartment that will only be used for 4 weeks out of the year
Lol, NYC should double the taxes of anyone who buys this style. The buyers don’t care anyway
Lol
All of you spouting this NIMBY stuff, your jealousy towards the people who can actually afford to live in this building is showing.
I’ve been waiting for this moment for years, and I think it was well worth it. Beautiful.
This bldg. is looking much better these days, losing the protective film. A butterfly may yet emerge from the caterpillar
Just announced today: The Los Angeles office space demand market has returned to pre-pandemic levels. This is great news, and could bode well for New York as well. Yes its Los Angeles, not New York. But LA has long frustrating commutes and high prices just like NYC, yet both cities are yearning to return to normal.D And both have city governance officials (ie mayor) that have significantly lessened the quality of life in their respective city.