In New York's Sky-High Residential Market, It's All About the Views

Robin Finn looks at New York's "Stratospherians", vertical lifestyle fans with deep pockets that are driving the city's residential tower construction, and prices, to new heights.

1 minute read

May 13, 2013, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"What do New Yorkers most value in a dream apartment? Height, light and unobstructed views," says Finn.

“Views, together with peace and quiet, never go out of style,” said Chandra Tyler, an associate broker at Bellmarc Realty, “and for folks who can afford the better things in life, that’s the sort of apartment on their bucket list.”

"Residential towers are stabbing at the sky in Midtown," notes Finn, "where the unfinished One57, on West 57th Street, and 432 Park Avenue are jostling for supremacy, and downtown, where 8 Spruce Street, a rental building a k a New York by Gehry, is presently Manhattan’s tallest occupied residential tower at 76 stories."

“'Airplane views are the wave of the residential future,' said Daria Salusbury, a senior vice president for luxury leasing of Related Companies, whose One MiMA Tower at 460 West 42nd Street caters to 'vertical lifestyle' fans."

"Views are the No. 1 driver of price, and people are willing to pay for scarcity,” explains Kelly Mack, the president of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group. “There seems to be an endless appetite for this type of luxury living, especially downtown, where it hasn’t existed until recently.”

Friday, May 10, 2013 in The New York Times

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