Mayor Bill de Blasio may have little love for Donald Trump, but behind closed doors his administration has good cause to thank the real estate mogul and invoke his catchphrase, “It’s gonna be huge!”
That’s because the city’s bean counters have calculated his Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza as the most valuable condo building in the city for tax collection purposes.
The 362 condo units in the Midtown East building, which Trump completed in 2001, have a total market value of $238.27 million in fiscal year 2016, according to a TRData analysis of the Department of Finance’s preliminary tax rolls.
The other buildings on the list of the 10 highest market value assessments in 2016 form a row of familiar facades — Extell Development’s One57, Zeckendorf Development’s 15 Central Park West, Irwin Chanin’s 25 Central Park West, and the Zeckendorf’s 61 Irving Place all feature on the list.
Despite measuring what’s known as “market value,” the city’s assessment figures are not designed to estimate the price of properties were they to be sold on the market.
All told, average condo tax assessments across the city rose 10.7 percent last year as the total market value of taxable property crossed the $1 trillion threshold.
According to TRD‘s analysis of tax roll data, Trump’s tower increased in value at a rate just slightly higher than the average – 10.9 percent – to leapfrog past the previous year’s “most valuable” building: Zeckendorf’s 15 Central Park West.
The two buildings’ market values were separated by less than $1.5 million in fiscal year 2015. But the market value of the limestone-clad Robert A.M. Stern climbed less than 1 percent to $216.32 million to fall to the No. 2 spot on the list.
At least one of the Zeckendorf brothers may be quick to tip his hat to the competition. Younger brother Arthur Zeckendorf is a contributor to Trump’s presidential campaign, and has in the past cited the Donald as the person who most influenced him in business.
Below is a ranking of the condo buildings with the largest preliminary market values.
Department of Finance’s market value for condo buildings
| No. | Address | No. of Units | Market Value FY 2016 | % change YoY | 2015 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 845 United Nations Plaza | 362 | $238,273,008 | 10.94 | 2 |
| 2 | 15 Central Park West | 230 | $216,320,007 | 0.034 | 1 |
| 3 | 157 West 57th Street | 94 | $209,841,006 | 19.43 | 5 |
| 4 | 20 West 64th Street | 655 | $195,726,985 | 15.28 | 10 |
| 5 | 322 West 57th Street | 582 | $194,612,258 | 15.08 | 11 |
| 6 | 1 Irving Place | 647 | $192,122,006 | 9.4 | 6 |
| 7 | 350 West 42nd Street | 551 | $191,085,874 | -1.82 | 3 |
| 8 | 220 Riverside Boulevard | 416 | $187,313,990 | 7.32 | 8 |
| 9 | 25 Central Park West | 422 | $181,643,997 | 6.84 | 9 |
| 10 | 80 Riverside Boulevard | 269 | $179,525,997 | 10.66 | 12 |
Source: TRData analysis of Department of Finance’s preliminary tax roll