From left: the exterior of 535 West End Avenue, Atoosa Rubenstein and the interior of the unit

Former women’s magazine maven Atoosa Rubenstein and her securities trader husband have purchased one of the last remaining sponsor units at Extell Development’s 535 West End Avenue, according to records filed with the city today. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom spread — the last of the “A” line, per the listing — went for $8.9 million, about $500,000 less than the last asking price, according to Streeteasy.com. [more]

From left: A rendering of One57′s exterior and a rendering of a unit

With all the buzz surrounding what’s to come with Gary Barnett’s newest luxury tower at Broadway and West 57th Street — slated to be the tallest residential tower in the nation — what is still available at Barnett’s other record-breaking project One57 should not be forgotten. According to Curbed, there is still a wide range of units left to be had in the bastion of billionaires…. [more]

From left: Joe Sitt, Helmsley Carlton House and Gary Barnett

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities has purchased from Extell a block-long retail space in the former Helmsley Carlton House on Madison Avenue for $277 million  — one of the highest total prices ever paid for a retail property on the street, according to the Wall Street Journal. Thor beat out Vornado Realty Trust, which had placed a competing $280 million offer for the retail space, located at 680 Madison Avenue and 61st Street, between Barneys and Hermès. [more]

From left: the Rushmore, Andrew Chung of Carlyle Realty, Extell’s Gary Barnett

After fighting more than three years of litigation with Extell Development and Carlyle Realty Partners, a group of 40 buyers at the Rushmore condominium said Thursday that they had finally received a $15 million refund from the developers, largely resolving the disruptive dispute. [more]

Gary Barnett, 1780 Broadway, the site of the new tower, and a rendering of Building 2

Yesterday, Extell head Gary Barnett and partner the Carlyle Group sold the Building 2 site at the Riverside Center development for $70 million, as Extell begins raising capital for its new 57th Street tower — currently poised to become the tallest residential building in the U.S., the New York Post reported. The buyers of the complicated $420 million development were Dermot and AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust. The project calls for 616 residential rentals, retail space and a school and has a $275 million state Housing Finance Agency bond mortgage with credit enhancements through Bank of America and Capital One.  When the 640,000-square-foot Building 2, which is located at the southwest corner of West 61st Street, it will be known as 21 West End Ave…. [more]

Gary Barnett and 1780 Broadway, the site of the new tower

Gary Barnett has hired Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the designers of the world’s tallest building, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa in Dubai, to design his new 1,550-foot 57th Street tower, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Nordstrom anchored mixed-use building, plans to rise some 300 feet above the Empire State Building when completed. [more]

From left: a rendering of the International Gem Tower and Extell president Gary Barnett

Two precious gem companies have each purchased an office condominium at Extell Development’s International Gem Tower, marking the first deals to close at the property, a statement from the developer today said.

Malca-Amit USA and Kuperman Bros. Diamonds USA closed on the sales last week and will now begin building out their spaces, the statement said. Malca-Amit has just under 10,000 square feet; Kuperman has just over 3,000. [more]

From left: Gary Barnett, a rendering of One57 and the collapsed crane at One57

[Updated 1:21pm, with comment from Extell] Among the many depictions of Hurricane Sandy, the image of the One57 crane, bent backwards like a wilted stalk, is among the most indelible. In the aftermath of the collapse, construction engineers and city officials are working to fully secure the crane. Meanwhile, questions about what caused the incident and what it will mean for the high-profile Extell project and its developer, Gary Barnett, are largely unanswered.

At press time, the crane continued to dangle 74 stories above West 57th Street, which had been evacuated between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Steam, electricity and gas in the surrounding area were shut off, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday. [more]

From left: Michael Hirtenstein (credit: Hamptons Magazine ) and a rendering of One57

Gary Barnett has returned New York property investor Michael Hirtenstein’s One57 contract and deposit, after Hirtenstein admitted to bribing a construction worker to film the view from what would have been his future apartment, according to the New York Post. Barnett has been strict about not letting his buyers view their apartments before completion. After Hirtenstein complained to Extell that his view of Central Park was obscured by Essex House, Barnett returned his contract and deposit.

Barnett claims that he rejected Hirtenstein on principle, and that it had nothing to do with Hirtenstein paying a construction worker $200 to secretly film the unit, according to the Post. [more]

Extell’s Dan Tubb and new renderings of One57

A film produced by the marketing team at One57 is helping the building rake in as much money as any Hollywood blockbuster, according to the New York Post. The short film promotional film shown to Extell Development’s prospective buyers begins with the completed building emerging from water.

According to the Post, as water shoots up into the air, forming the blue-glass building, intercuts of a beautiful evening-dressed woman are shown. The woman is seen strolling through a massive apartment with a view of Central Park and in another cut she goes down the elevator from the 90th floor to get into an awaiting black sedan. [more]