According to our custom CityRealty index tracking condo sales within buildings designed by high-caliber architects (“starchitects,” no offense), closing prices now average $3,360 a foot, well above the $1,853 a foot overall average recorded for Manhattan last month.
One of the index’s top performing buildings downtown is the recently-finished 551 West 21st Street in West Chelsea. Designed by the eminent British architect Lord Norman Foster, the building offers High Line and Hudson River Park passersby glints of gold and beautiful proportions. Inside are 44 luminous residences improved with 11-foot-high ceilings, oak herringbone floors, and perimeter seating areas beneath oversized picture windows.
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Last week, a full-floor combo unit encompassing the 15th-floor debuted on the market. According to The Real Deal, the seller is Hong Kong billionaire and philanthropist Karen Lo, who purchased the homes for a total of $29.3 million in fall 2016. The publication says Lo spent an estimated $148,000 to stitch the apartments together. The result: a majestic two-winged aerie with seven bedrooms and eight baths unified by a grand 82-foot-long corner living room. The 8,350 ft² home has an ask of $36.5 million, just below the $38 million price Howard Hughes' CEO, David Weinreb paid for a "white box" penthouse in the building.
551 West 21st Street (Photo by CityRealty)
551 West 21st Street #15th Floor (Erin Boisson Aries of Christie's International Real Estate)
The GREAT room’s panorama of windows lends onto views of the Hudson and downtown skyline
Great room
The home has two windowed eat-in kitchens
The western kitchen, shown above, is designed by Molteni and has beveled Blanco de Macaele marble countertops and backsplash, naturally stained oak cabinetry, and a suite of state-of-the-art appliances. The kitchen in the eastern wing has views to the north and has its own service entrance.
The west wing's kitchen
The master’s 19-foot long dressing room
Dressing room
One of two master baths each with its own enclosed shower and freestanding bathtub
The spread comes with three parking spaces and has porter and valet services. The building’s amenities include a private drive court surrounded by a 20' green wall, a 24-hour attended lobby, a fitness center, his & hers spas, yoga room, residents lounge, children's playroom and bike storage. The tower is a half-block from the High Line and is surrounded by a multitude of galleries (including one at the building’s ground floor). Chelsea Piers and the Hudson River greenway is at the building’s front door across Eleventh Avenue.
551W21 under construction in 2016 (CItyRealty)
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New Developments Editor
Ondel Hylton
Ondel is a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city's dynamic urban landscape.
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