Zeckendorf’s 50 UN Plaza sees a sluggish sellout

The developer is seeking an average of $3,000 per square foot in the building

<em>50 United Nations Plaza (inset: William and Arthur Zeckendorf)</em>
50 United Nations Plaza (inset: William and Arthur Zeckendorf)

Zeckendorf Development is banking on slow and steady sales winning higher price tags for its latest project.

Less than half of the units in 50 United Nations Plaza have closed since sales launched two years ago, Crain’s reported. Of the 40 apartments that closed, roughly two-thirds sold at an average discount of 9 percent.

But developers say the pace of sales are of little concern if they achieve the prices they are seeking. William Zeckendorf told Crain’s that he isn’t bothered by a slower sellout, since he hopes to reach an average asking price of $3,000 per square foot in the building. Sales currently average $2,700 per square foot. He expected the building to sell out four years after sales launched in 2013.

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“We purposely wanted to achieve higher prices, and so we are perfectly comfortable with a slightly slower sellout,” Zeckendorf told the website.

He admitted that perhaps some of the units at the top of the building were too high. Sales are being handled in-house.

In October 2013, the Zeckendorfs listed a 15,597-square-foot triplex in the building for $100 million. Earlier this year, the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar scooped up four apartments in the building for $45 million, one of a few discounted bulk purchases made in the building. [Crain’s]Kathryn Brenzel