Harry Macklowe’s $2 billion-plus condo conversion of the former Irving Bank Tower One Wall Street has become one retail gift to fiddy – but most of its unsold apartments look like a lump of coal to Macklowe.
As the neighborhood rejoices at the building’s spectacular renovation and awaits the first U.S. location of French luxury department store Printemps this spring, real estate giant Macklowe is struggling to sell luxury homes.
Since sales began in late 2021, deals have closed on only 112 of the 566 apartments, a Post study of public records found. Deed transfers are listed on the city finance department’s ACRIS site.
Macklowe previously said he was taking the long view and did not expect One Wall Street to sell overnight. Nevertheless, sales at a snail’s pace forced one fidget market-watcher to sneer, “They’re not moving like tube socks at a street fair.”
Although one large unit sold for $6.17 million, most purchases were between $800,00- and $2 million. Their total value is about $230 million, which represents only 14% of the estimated $1.7 billion sale – which does not include the triplex penthouse whose price has not yet been decided.
Despite 100,000 square feet of residents’ amenities, including private dining rooms and a 75-foot pool, initial sales were so slow that Macklowe needed a $300 million “inventory” loan from Deutsche Bank last year to cover unsold apartments. Was.
Jonathan Miller, CEO of valuation and research firm Miller Samuel, told The Post this week: “Although this area is a prime office-to-residential opportunity, the limited volume of sales above the $2 million threshold and large discounts over asking have seen There have been several sales suggesting that pricing is different from what the market can absorb.
According to the Downtown Alliance, the area below Chambers Street has more than 220,000 condo units, with no less than 262,000 rentals. Thousands remain unsold, including brand new buildings like 125 Greenwich St., where 272 units were recently purchased.
According to the Alliance report, the average price of a FiDi and Battery Park City condo dropped from $1.275 million in the second quarter of 2023 to $985,000 in the third quarter of this year.
Although One Wall Street is often portrayed as part of the city’s family-friendly residential renaissance, more than half of the buyers identified on ACRIS are explicitly foreign-based buyers from Japan, China, India and Russia. , who probably bought the apartments as investments. Some are already on rent.
The most recent purchase recorded on November 4 was of Unit 1810, a 753-square-foot, one-bedroom, which was sold for $1.4 million by an entity called “ThirdWave Corp. under fictitious name ThirdWave Japan”.
One Wall Street consists of the original 50-story 1931 building designed by Ralph Walker, an Art Deco masterpiece, and a 35-story building added 1963–1965 at the southern end. Maclowe purchased the vacant property on the Broadway corner in 2014 and subsequently spent five years of hard work restoring it.
They lured a giant Whole Foods Market and a 75,000-square-foot Life Time Wellness Center. Printemps will be the jewel in the crown, featuring five restaurants and the recently renovated iconic “Red Room”, a former banking lobby that was off limits to the public.
Macklowe left the two selling brokerages, Core Real Estate and Compass, and is now marketing the units with his own team — which a project spokeswoman said is accelerating the pace of sales.
The representative said, “Twelve contracts were signed in the last eight weeks, four more contracts have now been issued, and with more interest and offers every day, we are very pleased with the pace of sales.”
“Over the past 90 days, we have issued contracts that span unit mix from approximately $1 million to more than $9 million,” the representative said. “Many recent buyers have been local and even hyperlocal.”
Meanwhile Macklowe is dealing with lawsuits Alleged apartment defect at 432 Park Avenue. And an effort by Fortress Investment Group to take over East Midtown properties they hoped to redevelop.
But Macklowe showed Houdini-like skill in extricating himself from disaster. One key dealmaker said, “Never think that Harry has lost.”
