Once listed for $110M, Woolworth Building penthouse sells for $30M
Photo credit: Chris Coe, Optimist Consulting
Six years and an $80 million price cut later, one of New York City’s most iconic penthouse properties has found a buyer. The Woolworth Building’s seven-story penthouse has sold for $30 million, not even a third of the original $110 million asking price. According to the Wall Street Journal, Scott Lynn, chief executive of Masterworks, an online art-investment service, is the buyer. After hitting the market for the jaw-dropping price in 2017, the penthouse, known as the Pinnacle, saw several price chops in recent years and was last publicly listed for $59 million, according to CityRealty.
Described as a “castle in the sky” by Alchemy Properties, which led the condo conversion, the expansive penthouse is located across floors 50 to 58, measuring over 9,600 square feet at 727 feet above New York City.
The home is surrounded by four turrets and includes a 400-square-foot, 360-degree observatory deck with Gothic-style embellishments and views of the city and beyond in every direction.
Built in 1913, the Woolworth Building at 2 Park Place was the world’s tallest building when it was completed. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert for developer Frank Winfield Woolworth, construction on the 792-foot-tall neo-Gothic tower cost $13.5 million at the time. Besides its distinct copper crown, the building is known for its striking facade, which is made up of thousands of pieces of terracotta. While it was gradually overshadowed by the many skyscrapers erected around the building since the Woolworth Building retains its landmark status and is recognized as an integral part of New York City’s history.
In 2012, Alchemy converted the top 30 floors of the tower into 33 condos, known as the Woolworth Tower Residences. Alchemy faced some hurdles while converting the building’s crown into a residential unit due to its lack of windows, which didn’t meet the city’s light and air requirements. To remedy this issue, Alchemy received approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to expand the existing windows and add six more, in addition to replacing 3,500 tiles of damaged terracotta on the building’s facade.
Sales launched in 2014, with prices ranging from $3.5 million for a 1,209-square-foot unit to $26.4 million for a 6,000-square-foot, full-floor unit with a terrace. The building’s amenities include a fitness center, wine cellar, a spa with a sauna and a hot tub, and a restored basement pool that was once the private pool of Frank Woolworth himself.
That June, the top-floor property’s incredible $110 million price tag was revealed, which made it the highest-asked price for an apartment in Downtown Manhattan at the time.
The apartment still needs millions of dollars worth of finishing and refurbishing, Ken Horn, president of Alchemy Properties, told the WSJ. The home was sold to Lynn as an “unfinished white box,” which Horn says was due to Alchemy knowing that any future owner would come in with “their own visions” for the penthouse.
Many potential buyers were unsure of what they could do with the unit when they came to check it out, so Alchemy brought in architect David Hotson to create a potential design. Hotson proposed a two-story living room with a mezzanine level that resembled the upper deck of a ship. Lynn is said to be working with Hotson on the final design for his new home.
[Via WSJ]
RELATED:
