Battle of the $100 Million Penthouses: One57 vs. Cityspire

While the first penthouse at One57 has closed for approximately $90 million, the second penthouse is still on the market for a rumored $110-115 million.

Almost next door at Cityspire, yet another penthouse–the top three floors of the building, comprising over 8,000 square feet–was also just listed for $100 million.

Dining room of the Cityspire penthouse, image from The New York Times & Evan Joseph

Comparing the two penthouses is impossible because there is no comparison. One57 outclasses Cityspire in every regard, and the Cityspire penthouse is completely inferior to the one being offered at One57 for several reasons.

The upper floors of One57 actually obstruct a good portion of the park views from Cityspire. The top penthouse of One57 was the one that already sold, but the ‘Winter Garden’ unit with over 13,000 square feet occupies the floors in the mid-70s (one buyer considered to combine floors 75-77 for a total square footage of over 20,000 feet!).

Mock view from One57 Penthouse from Business Insider

While the Winter Garden unit may not be at the very top, the views of Central Park are still unobstructed & it is still one of the highest penthouses in the city, only topped by others in the same building. Views from both penthouses at One57 are far superior to those offered at the Cityspire listing.

Space is another factor, where One57’s Winter Garden penthouse also blows away the Cityspire equivalent. The Cityspire listing has 8,000 square feet of space, which is enormous but not palatial. One57’s Winter Garden, however, has over 13,000 square feet of space, almost doubling the square footage of the Cityspire apartment but for a similar price. The One57 penthouse dwarfs the Cityspire unit in terms of size. Even One57’s unit that sold for $90 million had over 10,000 square feet of space.

Design-wise, Cityspire is also lacking. The listing photos for the $100 million unit show low ceilings, and the building’s amenities are also inferior to One57’s, which will host a Park Hyatt Hotel on the lower floors. Who would pay $100 million for a penthouse if any basketball players you invite over have to practically stoop to get through doorways?

Address is the final component to the penthouse comparison, where One57 also comes out on top. 57th Street is a busy corridor, but it’s only two blocks from the park, which is a major difference for a Midtown address. Cityspire is located between 55th and 56th streets, which may as well be a different galaxy when it comes to the real estate market.

Neither building fronts Central Park South, but One57’s units stole a good portion of the Cityspire views. When you’re 900 feet in the sky, two blocks is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. That cannot be said for Cityspire, as it is too far removed from the Park to have what will likely be permanent  unobstructed views.

After the ‘comparison’, it’s clear that the Cityspire listing has to be some kind of publicity stunt, because there is no way the Cityspire and One57 penthouses are worth the same amount (and One57’s prices are already astronomical–the remaining penthouse there definitely isn’t undervalued at over $100 million). The sky-high price has definitely accomplished that mission though, with ample media buzz over New York’s latest $100 million listing.

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