Sponsor units at Extell Development’s trophy residential tower One57 have finally been listed on StreetEasy. Four units were listed for sale by the developer on Tuesday, asking between $18.85 million and $32.75 million, the listings website shows.
The move by Extell to list the units publicly represents a turnaround in the marketing of the building. Since One57 launched sales in 2011, the developer has famously eschewed listing units on broker databases, such as the Real Estate Board of New York’s Residential Listing Service (RLS), On-Line Residential or sites like StreetEasy.
“The building is open and closings are underway,” said a spokesperson for Extell. “Prospective buyers now have the opportunity to experience the homes and the spectacular views of Central Park. We felt that this was the appropriate time to publicly list select residences online.”
Extell’s decision may have been prompted by a desire to offload the units before a flush of new inventory comes online along the 57th Street corridor, driving down prices, sources said. While sales appear to have been brisk in the early days of marketing at One57, the developer has not updated its public sales figure showing “over 70 percent” sold since the summer.
“We’ve been hearing since the fall that they’d sold 70 percent,” said Donna Olshan, CEO of boutique residential brokerage Olshan Realty. “They were very fortunate in that they came out when there was no competition. There’s more competition now, and even more competition slated for that corridor, so it behooves them to get this thing sold.”
Among the projects set to come online on 57th Street is the nearly 1,400-foot residential “skinny” tower at 111 West 57th Street by Property Markets Group and JDS Development, another Extell building with 233 condos at 225 West 57th Street and a 65-story tower with rental and condo units by development company the World Wide Group at 252 East 57th Street.
Keeping listings shrouded in mystery may have been a tactic for Extell early on, The Real Deal previously reported. By declining to publish listings on public databases, the company gave buyer’s brokers less information, encouraging in-house direct deals with the sponsor and saving on commissions.
Known buyers at One57 include a Bill Ackman-led investor and Richard Kringstein, co-owner of outerwear manufacturer Herman Kay. They bought their units for $90 million and $17.5 million respectively.