Pricey penthouses at 215 Chrystie, 1 Manhattan Square go under contract

Notions of a gritty Lower East Side are giving way to luxury condominiums, thanks to a string of multimillion-dollar condo deals.

Even with luxury sales dipping citywide, developers at One Manhattan Square and 215 Chrystie Street are selling penthouse units for relatively large sums, the Wall Street Journal reported.

At its 815-unit tower One Manhattan Square, Extell Development put a five-bedroom duplex under contract for about $13 million, the developer told the Journal. And at Ian Schrager and Steve Witkoff’s 215 Chrystie Street, a penthouse asking $23.5 million is under contract for close to the listed price. Two other penthouses asking more than $18 million are also in contract, according to Douglas Elliman’s Dennis Mangone.

Those sales, however, are something of an anomaly.

The average sale price for condos on the Lower East Side dropped to $1.14 million in October, down 16.1 percent from $1.36 million a year earlier, according to real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

Among properties $4 million and up, the number of contracts signed so far this year is down 18 percent from last year, according to Olshan Realty.

One Manhattan Square, located at 252 South Street, will have 815 units starting at $1.16 million. More than 80 units have sold since sales launched in November, according to Raizy Haas, Extell’s senior vice president of development. The tower, slated for completion in 2018, will have several swimming pools, an adult tree house, observatory and on-site laundry services. The duplex, which measures 3,699 square feet, was asking $13.178 million.

At 215 Chrystie Street, the penthouse asking $23.5 million measures 4,200 square feet with three bedrooms and a media room. The project has 11 condos atop a 370-room hotel, expected to be completed in the spring of 2017. [WSJ] — E.B. Solomont