WHITE HOT: One57’s model unit includes a white kitchen with Miele appliances, a marble island and touch technology. (Michael Sofronski(3))
BACK IN BLACK: Sleek master bathrooms have floating mirrors, black marble counters and white marble floors, plus a hidden TV.
BACK IN BLACK: Sleek master bathrooms have floating mirrors, black marble counters and white marble floors, plus a hidden TV. (
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Since it came out in May, “The Avengers” has made more than $620 million domestically. “The Dark Knight Rises” has netted close to $450 million. But they still won’t equal the returns on the two-minute-long film in the sales center for One57, Extell Development’s swanky condo and hotel ready for occupancy next year.
That short film is part of a marketing plan that’s done more than $1 billion in business with $300 million alone this summer, in a building where prices on condos have hit upwards of $90 million.
It’s rather staggering to think that years after a real estate and credit bubble rocked the country, leaving many posh new developments unfinished and insolvent, the luxury market could bounce back so strong. If you thought rich buyers would never again plunk down tens of millions of dollars on pre-construction, boy, were you wrong.
Naturally, the billionaire buyer who walks into the One57 sales center — two blocks from the site now under construction — sees more than a floor plan.
The film that starts out One57’s sales pitch features the future building being formed out of water, like the liquid-metal killer robot in “Terminator 2.”
Water shoots up into the air to form the blue-tinted skyscraper, intercut with images of a beautiful woman in a black dress traipsing through a massive apartment (with a view of Central Park) and going down the elevator (from the 90th floor) into a sleek black sedan waiting by the stylish lobby.
After the screening is over, the billionaire buyer is likely greeted by the affable, well-dressed Dan Tubb, One57’s director of sales.
“We have this contextual model,” Tubb says, pointing to a white model of Midtown, with the 90-story One57 conspicuously lit up. “This shows how the location defines the lifestyle, and the views at the foot of Central Park.” (Residences start on the 39th floor, so the vistas will be dramatic.)
A few feet away is a second enormous model of the Christian de Portzamparc-designed building itself. Tubb punches a button on his iPad, and various units become illuminated.
“At this point, a four-bedroom [starts at] $16.75 million,” says Tubb. That’s on the less expensive side of scale. “Full-floor units are $53 million and above.”
How many full-floor units are there? “We originally had 11,” says Tubb. “We just have a few remaining.”
Next, Tubb walks his buyer through the 8-foot-tall door (with an apartment number etched on the side) into the showroom, where there are to-scale models of the kitchens and bathrooms. (Thomas Juul-Hansen did the interiors.)
“This ceiling is about 11 feet, 6 inches,” says Tubb. “It was important to have the ceiling height.” (The ceiling heights vary, but in the high-floor units, they’re well over 11 feet.)
The kitchens come two ways, with white (hand-painted) or Macassar cabinetry.
They’re paired with Miele appliances and feature a smart-touch refrigerator (which sends you an e-mail if you accidentally forget to close the door), a Teppanyaki grill, pendant lighting, hidden chairs in the island, cabinet space galore, a Sub-Zero wine cabinet and a recirculating filter. (“A lot of billionaire buyers who will never see the kitchen are very pleased that they’ll never have to smell the kitchen, either,” Tubb says.)
The bathrooms have marble counters. The counters are black, and the floors (also marble) are white.
In the water closet is a small, hidden, flat-screen TV. And walls in the bathroom are of ribbed glass.
“Thomas Juul-Hansen said to me, ‘Dan, I love old Gotham. This is something you’d see in old Gotham.’ He wanted to mix the classic design of old New York with modern design.”
After the bathrooms, one is taken to look at what the views will look like on an enormous projector in what is styled to look like a common room, which includes a wall-length fish tank and chandelier.
It’s enough to make you go back and want to see it all again!