A rendering of One57 and William Ackman

A partnership of Pershing Square Capital’s William Ackman and a group of real estate investors is in contract to buy a penthouse at Gary Barnett’s One57 condominium for north of $90 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]

Compromised crane at One57

A Midtown co-op is suing to stop Extell Development from installing a new crane boom to the top of its One57 condominium project, which would required a one-day evacuation of the building, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]

Michael Gross and One57
(Gross photo source: Richard Lewin)

Real estate author Michael Gross is none too pleased that he is being asked to evacuate his home at the Alwyn Court co-ops at 180 West 58th Street once again, thanks to continued issues with the crane at nearby luxury tower One57, as he described in an opinion piece for the New York Times.

Gary Barnett’s Extell Development, the developer of the tower at 157 West 57th Street, offered $1,500 to each household at the Alwyn as compensation for the hassle of evacuating for the second time since Hurricane Sandy, when the crane boom cracked under the force of powerful winds. [more]

The compromised crane at One57

Perhaps one of the most striking images of Hurricane Sandy’s havoc was the crane boom dangling precariously 1,000 feet above Gary Barnett’s One57 site, which forced a weeklong area evacuation. Now, six months after the incident, construction workers will begin to raise a replacement crane to the top of the luxury residential site, the Wall Street Journal reported.  [more]

Gary Barnett

Extell Development’s Gary Barnett is selling a vacant building at West 57th Street and expects to get the $80 million he paid for the property two years ago, the New York Post reported.

The developer, who has been streamlining his portfolio by selling off non-core assets, has tapped CBRE’s Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan to sell the five-story building at 16-18 West 57th Street. The property, just off Fifth Avenue, has 24,000 square feet and comes with 75,000 square feet of buildable air rights. “[Barnett] was getting unsolicited offers at very strong pricing, so he was tempted,” an Extell spokeswoman told the Post.  [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: WTC,  the cast of MDLNY (top), the dangling crane atop One57 (bottom) and Barclays Center.

In 2012, One57 rose, and Dewey & LeBoeuf collapsed. The World Trade Center topped out, and Manhattan Apartments bottomed out. The Barclays Center brought stars to Brooklyn, and Bravo TV made celebrities of a trio of telegenic brokers. Read on for our choices for the top 10 real estate stories of the year. [more]

Denise Rich’s 785 Fifth Ave. penthouse; Steven Klar’s CitiSpire triplex

Even in a year of uncertainty — between the presidential election and the looming fiscal cliff — New York still managed to shatter several of its real estate records. Here’s a recap of the barriers broken in 2012. [more]

From left: the One57 crane, the West Harlem building collapse and the Domino Sugar plant

Some of New York City’s real estate professionals probably can’t wait to see 2012 in the rear view mirror. Between the Grubb & Ellis bankruptcy, Extell Development’s crane collapse and Katan Group’s bungled sale in Brooklyn, some of the highest-profile firms and developers stubbed their collective toes at some point this year. [more]

The One57 crane and Mayor Bloomberg

Mayor Michael Bloomberg appears to have changed his mind about skyscraper damage resulting from wind-related incidents, the New York Observer reported. Last month’s infamous One57’s dangling crane reminded the Observer of when April 2004’s freakish wind storms dislodged constructions material from the then-unfinished Time Warner Center.

Back in 2004, Bloomberg ordered work to be stopped immediately at Time Warner Center and reportedly chastised the developer. As previously reported, after the One57 crane collapsed, Bloomberg defended the Extell project and its developer, Gary Barnett. [more]