If Heidi Klum were in the industry, she might say: “In new development, one day you’re in, and the next, you’re out.”
In a bid to spur sales at his Flatiron condominium project at 45 East 22nd Street, Ian Bruce Eichner is replacing Corcoran Sunshine with Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, The Real Deal has learned.
Elliman’s [TRDataCustom] Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes will head up the sales team at the 83-unit project. The project is over 60 percent sold, Elliman said, but sales have dried up since October, when the project hit the 50 percent sold mark.
Eichner’s Continuum Company recently completed the exterior facade of the 65-story building. The full-floor units and penthouse collection will be launching this fall along with a model residence, according to Elliman.
Eklund and Gomes declined to comment on any potential price chops at the project. The 55 listings active on StreetEasy are priced at an average of $3,529 per square foot. A penthouse apartment is asking $38 million, or more than $6,000 per square foot. In May, Eichner told TRD about how he assembled enough air rights to expand the building by four stories, a move he likened to the “Game of Thrones.”
Eichner wouldn’t be the first developer to pull back on pricing amid a high-end condo glut. Some developers slated to bring projects to the market over the next year are backtracking altogether. A total of 3,574 Manhattan condos are slated to hit the market in all of 2016, 38 percent lower than was estimated in January, according to Corcoran Sunshine.
In a statement, Eichner said he thought Elliman would “bring a unique perspective to the project.”
“Since launching, sales and traffic has consistently been strong and I’ve been more than happy with the results,” he said.
A spokesperson for Corcoran Sunshine was not immediately available for comment on the project. The brokerage and Elliman often go head-to-head on new developments, and the tale of the tape is mixed. In April, Corcoran Sunshine took over for Elliman at 100 Barclay, Magnum Real Estate Group’s 157-unit condominium conversion of the Verizon Building Downtown.