The penthouse at the top of the supertall skyscraper at 111 West 57th Street in New York City has hit the market for US$110 million ($143 million).

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom apartment has 11,480 sq ft of interior space and 618 sq ft of terraces, and occupies the entirety of the 80th through 83rd floors. The four-floor apartment is in the world’s skinniest skyscraper, from SHoP Architects, with a width-to-height ratio of 1-to-24.

At 1,428 ft high, it is the second-tallest residential building in the United States and incorporates the original Steinway Hall building from 1925. The tower has made headlines, but it was by no means an instant success, with slow initial sales and price reductions for units at the luxury development. Apollo Real Estate Trust scaled back expectations for the building in 2023.

“It’s a global market for these buildings on Billionaires Row,” says Jonathan Miller, president and chief executive officer of real estate appraisal company Miller Samuel. “And the market turned out not to be as wide and as deep as was anticipated, so the absorption of many of these buildings has been taking a while.”

He adds: “With 111 West 57th, the absorption was slower than forecast. It is a unique location and an international address, but so many units or buildings came on in a fairly short time. Everything is taking longer on Billionaires Row.”

Developed by JDS Development Group, Property Markets Group and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, the building itself was completed in 2022. According to reports, it had only sold about half of its 59 units by 2024.

Nikki Field and her team at Sotheby’s International Realty were brought aboard in July 2024 to revive sales. “Reinventing high-profile buildings is not easy; we’ve been on rescue missions before,” says Field. “To change the message and equate that to sales, we had to convince the market — the wealth advisers, the family offices, agents and buyers — that we had a new and improved building.”

In practical terms, that meant changing the building’s managing agent and bringing in additional luxury hospitality staff. Due to these changes, Field says that US$285 million in sales have closed or gone into contract in the past eight months.

This could also be the result of broader market tailwinds. New York’s US$10 million-and-above market had its second-biggest year ever, with new-build developments faring especially well. And in the first quarter of this year, the total transactions are up 29% over the same period in 2024, Miller says.

“That’s a big number, but part of it is because a year ago the market was quiet, because many people were expecting the Fed to cut rates three times by the summer and were holding off until rates came down, and that didn’t happen,” he explains.

The market uncertainty may also have contributed to more robust sales. “While 90% of buyers in Manhattan above the US$5 million threshold pay cash, Fed policy still impacts the financial markets. And with the tariff tantrums of late and the blunt force trauma that the financial markets have experienced, that has incentivised parties to move sooner rather than later,” he says.

As for the penthouse’s eyewatering price, Miller says there’s been a variety of sales near the US$100 million threshold in New York in recent years. “It would not be an outlier,” he adds.

Inside the penthouse

The first floor of the apartment has an entry hall with stone floors leading to a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows.

A south-facing kitchen is also on this floor, decked out with quartzite countertops and Gaggenau appliances, including a gas cooktop, steam oven and wine fridge. The kitchen leads out to the first of the property’s terraces.

The next floor up — the 81st floor — has four bedrooms, all with closet spaces and en-suite bathrooms. There’s also a wet bar and a south-facing lounge area.

The 82nd floor is solely devoted to a 2,800-sq-ft primary suite that offers views of Central Park. There are two bathrooms, one clad in grey onyx and one in white onyx, and both have freestanding nickel bathtubs. There are also two separate dressing rooms and a private office space on this level.

At the very top is a floor the developers have labelled the “crown suite”, which seems ideal for throwing parties. There’s a bar, a billiards table, a private screening room, a service kitchen and an additional outdoor terrace for watching the sun set over Manhattan from 83 floors up.

“It’s really right at the top,” Field says. “I was there recently, and helicopters came very close to the window — we were really in the clouds, it was extraordinary.”

The owner of the penthouse will have access to the building’s amenities, which include a daily complimentary breakfast provided by Le Bilboquet at the residents-only club level. Field says this has been a popular spot for owners to take their business meetings. There’s also an 82-foot indoor lap pool.

“The building will only have some 60 owners, and at any given time, two-thirds of those people are away,” Field says. “So it will likely feel very private in the pool.” There’s also a fitness centre with Technogym equipment, a golf simulator and what Field claims is the only indoor residential padel court in Manhattan.

Still, Field says the US$110 million price means there’s only a small pool of possible buyers. “There’s probably only 100 people in the world that this would resonate with,” she says.

She adds that the penthouse was originally two duplexes, but the team decided it made more sense as one ultraluxury four-floor unit instead.

“We wanted to wait and keep the top of the building back until we had strong sales that would support the sale of this unit,” she says. “We now have those strong sales and this merits a mega-buyer in New York.”

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