111 West 57th sees two $30M+ sales in midst of shutdown

“Any developer who says their pricing is absolutely firm is not being serious,” says JDS chief

111 West 57th Street and Michael Stern of JDS Development
111 West 57th Street and Michael Stern of JDS Development

A virtual tour is responsible for at least one contract on Billionaires’ Row.

Two condos, both asking around $30 million, have gone into contract at 111 West 57th Street since March, according to the Wall Street Journal. Michael Stern’s JDS Development, along with Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group and Spruce Capital Partners, are the developers behind the SHoP Architects-designed tower, also known as the Steinway building.

The most recent contract was signed last week for a unit on the 70th floor last asking $30.5 million. Showings for the buyer, identified only as an international businessman in tech, were all done virtually.

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The second contract for a three-bedroom unit on the 64th floor was signed earlier this spring after the buyer, an American in finance, personally toured the unit in early March. The condo was last asking $30 million.

Douglas Elliman handled the sale for the developers. Last year, a former partner, AmBase Corporation, sued the partners over allegedly wiping out its stake.

Stern admitted both units went into contract at a “slight” discount, but said that was to be expected.

“Any developer who says their pricing is absolutely firm is not being serious,” he told the Journal. “It’s the best time to be a buyer, because everyone is willing to listen to a reasonable offer at a fair discount.” [WSJ] — Erin Hudson