50 West 66th Street is officially the Upper West Side’s tallest tower

The Upper West Side has a new tallest tower. This week the residential skyscraper 50 West 66th Street reached its pinnacle height of 775 feet, officially taking the title from its 52-story tower neighbor 200 Amsterdam. Developed by Extell Development Company, the building includes 127 condominium units and 50,000 square feet of amenities.

Designed by Snøhetta with SLCE as the executive architect, 50 West 66th Street features a unique geometric facade of bronze and limestone with its bulk carved away, separating the tower volume into two. Above a shared amenity terrace on the 16th floor, the tower gets more slender as it rises with the “opposing corners of the building sliced away to create balconies” with amazing views.

As the architects describe, the “zipper of loggias runs the full length of the upper volume, visually connecting the body to its lustrous sculpted crown.”

There are two residence collections offered at the tower. The House residences are designed by Shamir Shah Design and reflect the “classic pre-war elegance” of the Upper West Side. The Tower residences are designed by AB Concept and feature dramatic soaring ceilings, city views, and private loggias at the corners.

Amenities include a basketball and pickleball court, an indoor saltwater lap pool, a fitness center, and a gaming lounge. On the 20th floor, there’s an outdoor saltwater swimming pool, sundeck, lounge and bar, conference room, and more.

Extell first filed permits for a tower at 50 West 66th Street in 2017, but legal challenges related to the proposed height of the mechanical floors, designed to be unusually high to increase the building’s overall height, delayed construction. The project got the go-ahead in 2020 and sales quietly launched last year, with pricing starting at $4.6 million for a two-bedroom and going up to $85,000,000 for a six-bedroom penthouse.

In 2023, the building was voted 6sqft’s Building of the Year.

According to Extell, the project is now over 50 percent sold, with notable sales including Residences 41E, 42E, and 47E, which are all combinations of two units and include five bedrooms. The homes measure 7,000 square feet with two loggias and were listed for between $42.75 million and $46.75 million, according to a spokesperson. Plus, all of the “House” residences with terrace space have already been sold.

“With little new construction inventory on the Upper West Side, and lack of buildings that speak to the caliber of 50 West 66th Street, we have filled a void in the market that is clearly resonating with buyers,” Gary Barnett, Extell Founder and Chairman, said in a statement.

“The demand for architecturally significant, high-end buildings is still strong in today’s market, and our success is proof.”

Extell Marketing Group is handling sales and marketing with Janice Chang of Douglas Elliman and Hilary Landis and Beth Benalloul of The Corcoran Group.

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