Developers William and Arthur Zeckendorf will pay a record $600 per square foot this week for air rights above their planned 60th street luxury tower, the New York Times reported. The total dollar amount: $40 million for roughly 70,000 square feet.
The brothers plan to purchase the air rights from Christ Church, at the northwest corner of Park Avenue and 60th Street, which they will use to add floors to their now 51-story project; prices in the building are expected to hit $8,000 a square foot.
“They’re building what I call a Viagra building: a tall slender tower with great views at a great location,” Robert Shapiro, a broker, told the Times. “What difference does it make if you pay $100 more per square foot if you’re selling condos at over $4,000 a square foot? But there aren’t many sites where you can do this.”
The old record price paid for air rights was set last fall when a developer paid $500 a square foot for the rights above a parcel in Chelsea at 21st Street and 11th Avenue. [NYT] —Christopher Cameron