“Limestone Jesus” 15 CPW is New York’s top-performing condo tower: report

Project saw sales with average cost of $6,045 per sf

From left: 15 Central Park West, 432 Park Avenue and the Walker Tower
From left: 15 Central Park West, 432 Park Avenue and the Walker Tower

The best performing condominium project in New York City isn’t a glossy new development — it’s two decade-old towers, according to a new report.

The average price per square foot of units that sold at Zeckendorf Development’s 15 Central Park West in the past year — from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018 — was $6,045, according to the latest CityRealty 100 report. The limestone towers also saw a compound annual growth rate of 6.8 percent from 2007 to 2017, far outpacing other buildings with 10 years of sales or more.

Gabby Warshawer, research director at CityRealty, noted that this is the first time that the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building could be included in the ranking by price growth, since it’s now seen 10 years of closings.

“It’s surprising, but I guess it’s just a testament to how attractive that building continues to be to investors,” she said. “The appreciation is much more than other buildings.”

Last year, Zucker Organizaton’s 30 East 85th Street topped CityRealty’s list, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent over a 10-year period between 2006 and 2016.

By average price per square foot, 15 CPW also beat out newer projects including Macklowe Properties and CIM Group’s 432 Park Avenue and Extell Development’s One57. On last year’s ranking, too, the tower topped its competitors, with an average price per square foot of $7,227 across eight sales during a 12-month period ending June 30, 2017.

All told, the average price per square foot of the top 100 residential condo buildings was $2,494, according to the report. In order to make CityRealty’s list of the top 100, sales in the building must close at an average price of at least $1,000 per square foot. The report doesn’t take closing credits or other price breaks into account, but did note a 12 percent year-over-year average price decrease.

Here are the top 10 condo buildings by average price per square foot, based on sales from the last 12 months:

1) 15 Central Park West
Developer: Zeckendorf Development
Average price per sf: $6,045
Number of sales: 8

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2) 432 Park Avenue
Developer: Macklowe Properties, CIM Group
Average price per sf: $5,542
Number of sales: 21

3) Walker Tower
Developer: JDS Development Group, Property Markets Group
Average price per sf: $5,050
Number of sales: 2

4) Residences at the Mandarin Hotel
Developer: Related Companies
Average price per sf: $4,623
Number of sales: 2

5) Trump International
Developer: Trump Organization
Average price per sf: $4,380
Number of sales: 3

6) One57
Developer: Extell Development
Average price per sf: $4,031
Number of sales: 12

7) Baccarat Hotel & Residences
Developer: Starwood Capital Group, Tribeca Associates
Average price per sf: $3,747
Number of sales: 3

8) 18 Gramercy Park South
Developer: Zeckendorf Development
Average price per sf: $3,744
Number of sales: 1

9) The Greenwich Lane
Developer: Rudin Management
Average price per sf: $3,650
Number of sales: 19

10) One Beacon Court
Developer: Vornado Realty Trust
Average price per sf: $3,561
Number of sales: 8