The biggest residential deals of 2020 are reminiscent of a different time — one when the luxury market wasn’t at the mercy of a downturn and a pandemic.
The 10 most expensive home sales were all at the same address: Vornado Realty Trust’s 220 Central Park South. The deals all went into contract years before, between 2015 and 2019. And the buyers are all unknown, their identities masked by limited liability companies or other business entities, including a trust. The deals ranged from $99.9 million for the largest sale to $53.6 million for the tenth-largest transaction.
Only when TRD’s analysis of property records was broadened to consider the top 20 residential deals did trades outside of Steve Roth’s towering condo project appear. And even then, 220 Central Park South accounted for 16 of the 20 spots.
The four properties that approached the condo’s sky-high prices included financier J. Christopher Flowers’ $43 million purchase of a 7,500-square-foot co-op that overlooks Central Park and billionaire Israel Englander buying the Sackler family’s Upper East Side townhouse for $38 million. There was also a Soho penthouse in the building where actor Heath Ledger was found dead in 2008 which was purchased by an unknown buyer for $35 million. Finally, a Park Avenue penthouse formerly owned by Nautica founder David Chu sold for $32 million.
Here are 2020’s top resi deals — or rather, here are the priciest deals that closed at 220 Central Park South:
1. 220 Central Park South, PH 76 | $99.9 million
The most expensive home sale this year was a 8,200-square-foot duplex at the very top of 220 Central Park South. The buyer, a limited partnership registered as 76CPS LP, paid around $12,164 per square foot. Floor plans show only one bedroom with the vast amount of the space reserved for a two-level great room. The four-bedroom unit went into contract in May 2017.
2. 220 Central Park South, V-8 | $65.6 million
The runner-up was another duplex, spanning more than 7,900 square feet, in the “villa” portion of the condo overlooking Central Park. The eight-bedroom unit was bought by ENKA Residence LLC, which then secured a $32.5 million mortgage from Bank of America. Documents list the owner’s address as care of Gregorgy Fescina at Nima Capital, a family office that invests in real estate assets.
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3. 220 Central Park South, Unit 72 | $63.1 million
This four-bedroom apartment is the fourth-highest residence in the condominium’s tower. It went into contract in January 2019, which is fairly recent compared to the rest of this year’s big-ticket closings. The 5,935-square-foot unit occupies an entire floor, with a 140-square-foot balcony facing the park. The deal works out to $10,446 per square foot and the buyer SASA 1, LLC.
4. 220 Central Park South, Unit 71 | $62.6 million
A floor below, another four-bedroom residence sold at what comes out to $10,550 per square foot. The 5,935-square-foot unit has a library, dining room, eat-in kitchen and living room facing Central Park, according to floor plans in the condominium’s offering plan. The buyer was 220 CPS 71 Holding LLC, a New York-registered company.
5. 220 Central Park South, Unit 69 | $61.6 million
This 6,000-square-foot, four-bedroom unit occupies the 69th floor of the tower, and has three small balconies facing the park. The buyer was AEH Jay Corp., which also owns an apartment on the 72nd floor of Time Warner Center’s south tower. That unit sold in 2013 for $18.8 million. AEH Jay Corp. went into contract for the 220 CPS unit in February 2018.
6. 220 Central Park South, Unit 70 | $61 million
A four-bedroom apartment on the tower’s 70th floor sold for $10,278 per square foot in August. The buyer was a New York entity, 220 CPS NY LLC, which signed a contract for the unit in October 2018.
7. 220 Central Park South, Unit 65 | $56.3 million
Another four-bedroom pad on the 65th floor spanning 5,935 square feet closed in April as the city was in lockdown. The deal worked out to $9,479 per square foot for the buyer, IDed only by a limited liability company named “G’s Delight.” The unit went into contract in September 2016.
8. 220 Central Park South, Unit 68 | $55.5 million
This 5,935-square-foot apartment on the 68th floor was bought by a foreign limited liability company, KMZM LLC, in July. The sale price of the four-bedroom unit works out to $9,351 per square foot. It originally went into contract in October 2018.
9. 220 Central Park South, Unit 64 | $54 million
A few floors down, another 5,935-square-foot apartment closed in July in a sale that amounted to $9,098 per square foot. The unit sold to another anonymous buyer, listed as 220 CPS 64 LLC, after going into contract in 2015.
10. 220 Central Park South, Unit 63 | $53.6 million
Last but not least, a four-bedroom residence on the 63rd floor sold to 22063 Realty Trust in April. The property went into contract in 2015, and the deal works out to $9,028 per square foot.
Source: A TRD analysis of single-family, condo, co-op and townhouse sales that closed in New York City between Jan. 1 and Nov. 20.