Gary Barnett seeks record $250M for Central Park Tower penthouse

Central Park Tower offers sky-high views. Gary Barnett wants his building’s penthouse to fetch a sky-high price too.

The Extell Development CEO is asking $250 million for the building’s triplex penthouse, the Wall Street Journal reported. If listing agent Ryan Serhant can find a buyer at that price, it would make the penthouse at 225 West 57th Street the most expensive home ever sold in the country.

The Billionaires’ Row apartment features seven bedrooms, 30-foot ceilings and a private terrace with park and river views. It clocks in at 17,500 square feet, meaning Extell wants just north of $14,000 per square foot. That puts it in the same ballpark as Vornado Realty Trust’s 220 Central Park South, where hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin bought the penthouse for a record $238 million in 2019.

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“There’s a bunch of artwork going for $100 million and even $200 million,” Barnett told the Journal. “When you compare that to 17,000 feet of steel and brick and glass at the top of the world, this seems like a relative bargain.”

But Central Park Tower has failed to reach Barnett’s ambitious price points in previous sales. Per square foot, the building has fetched 25 percent below its target prices, TRD reported in October. A five-bedroom apartment at the building recently sold for $43 million, nearly 33 percent below ask.

“I think I’ve given them away,” Barnett told the publication. “It’s just too low compared to other trades I’m seeing in the market.”

The new development market in New York has faced a wave of uncertainty in recent months, but the ultra-high-end market has fared better than most, as its buyers aren’t as sensitive to mortgage rate hikes as others.

– Joseph Lovinger