Extell Gets the OK for Next Tower on “Billionaires’ Row”

Extell Development is at it yet again. The real estate development group behind such behemoths as One57 will indeed be adding to their brood of buildings, as the Landmarks Commission has just given them the go-ahead to erect yet another hulking luxury tower. 

57th Street will have the 1,423-foot 217 West 57th Street skyscraper added to its block, and the new tower is planned to be 40 percent taller than Extell’s One57 condominium building still under construction. It will feature a Nordstrom’s and a hotel at its base that will complement Extell’s plans for it to become the tallest residential tower in the country. It will even top 432 Park which will come in at 1,396 feet upon completion in 2015. 

In what has become known as “billionaires’ row,” Extell is planning for 217 West 57th Street to join several other outré tall and excessively lavish buildings that are specifically tailored to appeal to the extremely wealthy—quite a few of whom call New York City home. In a stunning recent poll, the city came in at #1 for the highest concentration of billionaires in the world with a whopping tally of 70 living in Manhattan out of the 1,426 scattered about internationally. 

The other towers that make up “billionaires’ row” are of course One57, Vornado Tower, and 432 Park, not to mention a few others rumored to be popping up before too long. 

So far, both One57 and 432 Park have been doing quite well considering they are still incomplete. A recent “mystery” buyer plunked down $95 million for the penthouse at 432 Park and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman grabbed the $90-million pad over at One57 back in May—not to mention that reps for both towers respectively have boasted 50 percent and 70 percent of their upscale units already sold. 

The luxury 217 West 57th Street tower is being designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, which specializes in creating ultra-tall high-end skyscrapers internationally.