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nhattan

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432 Park Avenue – one of Manhattan’s first supertall, super skinny towers – rises above the Midtown Manhattan skyline.

are on the way, and not just along Billionaire’s Row. And the names that are involved with supertalls are among the most recognizable in the industry: Vornado Realty Trust, Hines, Goldman Sachs, and JDS Development Group, among oth- ers. The big question is, with this cluster of supertalls changing the game on the ground and in the air, what happens next? “That’s what everyone is trying to get their arms around,” says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a Manhattan-based appraisal and consulting firm. Miller, a veteran of the New York real estate scene for 30 years, was the only person who agreed to speak with The Zweig Letter about Billionaire’s Row. “I love that the skyline is changing” he says. “I’ve lived here since the mid ‘80s and I like it. But it’s polarizing. It’s mixed interpretations. There are extreme views. It’s a New York characteristic.” Two professors, multiple architects and design firms, and one real estate company, either declined a request for an interview or did not even respond to a request for an in- terview. One respondent, however, who did not want to be named, said this about the supertalls cropping up south of Central Park: “There are a lot of powers at work here, and by powers, I mean money, collaborative opportunity, and poli- tics … none of the large NYC firms want to touch this [story] – I can’t blame them.”

Those comments weren’t hyperbolic. The numbers around the supertalls, and Manhattan condominiums in general, are astronomic. CITYREALTY, in its Manhattan New De- velopment Report issued in June, provided a summary of the industry. Using its metrics, CITYREALTY estimates that borrough wide, there will be about $30 billion in condo sales through 2019, and that 92 condo projects with about 8,000 new units are under construction or proposed. Billionaire’s Row, of course, does not fit the typical mold, as evidenced by the persistent rumor that a penthouse at 220 Central Park South is under contract for $250 million – even by New York standards, a phenomenal number. “We ended up building the world’s most expensive safety deposit boxes. You put your belongings there and rarely visit.” Designed by brand names like Robert A.M. Stern , SHoP Architects , Rafael Vinoly , Jean Nouvel , and Christian de Portzamparc , the skyscrapers of Billionaire’s Row are mar- vels of the modern world with every possible finish and amenity. But with such a narrow target market – foreign in- vestors looking for a safe place to stash their cash – they are detached from the world over which they tower.

Miller explains: “We ended up building the world’s most

See BILLIONAIRE’S ROW, page 8

ober 3, 2016, ISSUE 1170

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