Downtown Manhattan Joins Nine-Figure Club

It was only a matter of time before Downtown Manhattan hit nine figures.

Zeckendorf Development and Atlas Capital Group quietly inked a $129 million contract at the 112-unit West Village project, a deal that would be the first nine-figure residential sale ever recorded in Downtown Manhattan.

The buyer signed for multiple units at the two-tower development, though exactly which condos are involved remains under wraps. That discretion tracks with how 80 Clarkson has operated since it launched sales earlier this year: no public listings, tightly controlled access and just enough information leaking out to keep brokers talking.

The previous Downtown record-holder, a double-wide Greenwich Village townhouse, sold for about $73 million. Even the priciest condo deals below 14th Street, like the $60 million sale at Witkoff’s 150 Charles or Aurora Capital’s $88 million contract at 140 Jane Street, now look more like stepping stones than outliers.

The shift has been in motion for a while. Earlier this year, new development contracts hit a five-month high, with luxury deals driving much of the momentum. Billionaires’ Row saw a cluster of $20 million-plus contracts at 111 West 57th Street, alongside a $53 million deal at Central Park Tower. Cash-heavy buyers were still actively parking capital in ultra-prime new development, even as inventory thinned. That same buyer behavior has since traveled south, where fewer sites and fewer units have only strengthened pricing power.

From the outset, 80 Clarkson has been engineered to test how far Downtown luxury can stretch, and lenders bought into that vision early. The project secured a $985 million construction loan, the largest residential construction financing in the city since the pandemic, at a moment when capital has been far more selective.

The project’s offering plan pegs its sellout north of $2 billion, with average pricing above $6,000 per square foot and trophy homes pushing well past $10,000. The most expensive unit currently on the books is a 7,000-square-foot duplex penthouse asking $80 million, but it’s not alone. A full-floor residence nearby is listed at $75 million, and several other units sit comfortably above $60 million.

The far West Village — closer to the highway and former industrial sites than tree-lined brownstone blocks — has become a proving ground. Resale comps from 150 Charles and 443 Greenwich helped establish the neighborhood, showing that river views and scale could rival Uptown towers. New development followed, but 80 Clarkson raised the stakes by concentrating that ambition into one ultra-luxury project.

Part of the intrigue is also about who’s behind it. For the Zeckendorfs, 80 Clarkson is widely seen as a commencement for Arthur William Zeckendorf III. While the family’s past hits like 15 Central Park West and 520 Park Avenue set the blueprint for modern ultra-luxury, this project extends the map.

So far, the numbers suggest it’s a good bet. Sources say Blackstone has already been paid back on its loan, and pricing has exceeded underwriting expectations. The South Tower is reportedly nearly sold out, while the taller West Tower is moving more deliberately, as expected at these price points.

There was plenty of other real estate news this week. The New York City Council signed off on a controversial housing package, Charles Cohen’s 750 Lex is headed to the auction block and Steve Ross nabs the biggest known construction loan ever in South Florida.

Housing wallop: City Council passes COPA, other legislative overhauls

The New York City Council approved a sweeping housing package at its final meeting of the year, including the long-debated Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA. The bills impose new affordability, unit-mix and wage requirements on city-financed housing, changes that industry groups warn could slow construction and complicate Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s goal of building 200,000 affordable units over the next decade.

Jackpot! 3 NYC casinos get official go-ahead, with caveat

New York City is officially getting three casinos after the state Gaming Commission approved licenses for the three proposals that cleared a key board this month, but there’s a catch. Steve Cohen’s $8 billion Metropolitan Park near Citi Field, a $4 billion Bally’s complex at Ferry Point and Resorts World’s $7.5 billion expansion at Aqueduct were conditionally approved Monday.

Manhattan’s top office leases of 2025

New York office leasing finally shook out of its pandemic-era rut in 2025. In the year that JP Morgan opened its new $3 billion headquarters at 270 Park Avenue as the ne plus ultra of the workplace, tenants showed that the office is not, in fact, dead. The kinds of mega-deals that epitomized office leasing’s boom years are back, and they’re helping drive the market to record numbers.

Lakewood lender targets Mark Nussbaum’s partner over escrow mess

Samuel Lowinger, the lesser-known partner of the dissolved firm Nussbaum Lowinger, has been sued by Lakewood-based Blueberry Funding for $58.7 million in missing escrow funds, alleging he breached his fiduciary duty. The lawsuit puts the focus on the other half of the now-defunct Manhattan-based law firm at the center of an escrow fraud scandal where former clients allege they are owed over $400 million.

Charles Cohen’s 750 Lex headed to auction block

Charles Cohen’s 750 Lexington Avenue is set to be auctioned off next month. The auction is the result of a foreclosure lawsuit facing the billionaire behind Cohen Brothers Realty. In a judgment entered earlier this month, a state court ordered the 31-story office building to be foreclosed upon and sold to pay off a $155.9 million loan balance.

Steve Ross scores $772M loan for West Palm office projects

Steve Ross, the billionaire focused on turning West Palm Beach into a financial and tech business mecca, scored a record $772 million construction financing package for two office projects. The deal is the biggest known construction loan ever in South Florida, and likely statewide. It comes amid looming questions about the long-term health and success of the tri-county region’s office market.

Gary Barnett bags $1B+ loan for 655 Madison

Gary Barnett’s Extell Development locked in a massive $1.13 billion construction loan for its planned 74-story tower at 655 Madison Avenue, the largest construction financing deal in New York City this year. The debt, provided by Adi Chugh’s Tyko Capital, backs a rezoned supertall project that Extell upsized earlier this year.

Google, Facebook to spend $1.4B on Texas data center construction this month

Big Tech is closing out the year with a holiday splurge in Texas, as Google and Facebook pour more than $1.4 billion into data center construction across the state this month alone. December’s projects account for over 40 percent of the $3.4 billion in data center construction budgets registered statewide for 2025.

“Barbaric”: Brian Walshe sentenced to life in prison

Days after his first-degree murder conviction, the husband of the late Tishman Speyer executive Ana Walshe received a life sentence without parole. Before the trial, Walshe conceded that he misled police and unlawfully disposed of Ana’s body, switching to a guilty plea on two of the three counts he faced.