WATCH: Behind Barnett’s big gamble on Central Park Tower

Back in 2008, Extell Development [TRDataCustom] founder and president Gary Barnett defied the laws of the recession; in the midst of a collapsed market, his One57 rose like a phoenix from the ashes. Now, he’s attempting to pull a similarly audacious trick: Just as the luxury condo market seems to be reaching saturation point, Barnett is trying to secure financing for two high-end residential projects — 1 Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side and Central Park Tower on Billionaires’ row.

There’s a nearly $200 million financing gap at 1MS and a $900 million construction loan to source for CPT (which would be one of the largest issued to a New York developer this cycle). And even if Barnett finds the money, there remains the question of where the buyers will come from.

In order to report on Barnett and these two projects, The Real Deal‘s Katherine Clarke started by taking a dive into the Israeli bond market, and eventually sat down with the man himself. The resulting story, “Inside Gary Barnett’s game of real estate Tetris,” provides an in-depth look at the developer’s financing strategy.

“Extell has been historically a very opaque company to us,” said Clarke, adding that the stringent disclosure laws for Israeli public companies allowed her a detailed look at the inner workings of Barnett’s plan.

To see the interview with TRD’s Hiten Samtani, watch the video above.

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