T
he cost of renting an apartment overlooking Central Park from a high-rise building is not as expensive as one might think. For instance, at Extell's 217 West 57th Street supertall, one unknown buyer paid $43.5 million for a 7,600-square-foot, five-bedroom apartment. This was a significant discount of 42% from the original offering plan's list price and 26% off its last asking price. This trend is not unique to this particular building but is shared by several other sales at Gary Barnett's Central Park Tower.

    Earlier this summer, Barnett made a significant deal when he sold a penthouse in the building for $115 million, representing a 34% discount from its offering plan price and another dip from its $150 million last asking price. In 2021, a TRD analysis found that the first 33 units with publicly available sales information in the building sold at an average 25% discount on a per-square-foot basis compared to the prices listed in the 2017 offering plan. Unit 39B, originally listed for $9,872 per square foot, sold for $5,726 per square foot.

    The Billionaires’ Row building launched sales in 2018 with a projected sellout of $4 billion. Following a series of discounts, Barnett now projects a sellout of closer to $3 billion for the 179-unit building. The building's crown jewel, a nearly 18,000-square-foot triplex originally listed at $250 million, has yet to sell and was taken off the market in July following a price drop last September to $195 million. The tower offers impressive amenities such as private swimming pools, a theater, and a fine dining restaurant on the 100th floor.

    Elliman's Janice Chang had the listing for 39B, which she took over in July after Corcoran had the apartment on the market for over a year, according to StreetEasy. The apartment features 14-foot ceilings and a nearly 2,000-square-foot outdoor terrace.