First-ever images of inside $17.5 million luxury condo in New York City – the world’s tallest residential skyscraper – show floor-to-ceiling windows that give it panoramic views of Central Park and the city

A 1,550ft Manhattan skyscraper believed to be the world’s tallest residential building has unveiled the first glimpse of what its luxurious apartments will look like.  

The developer of Central Park Tower, the luxury condo building at 217 West 57th Street which topped out last fall, released renderings showing floor-to-ceiling windows that look out toward Central Park.

The images from Extell Development show what the inside of a three-bedroom condo on the 43rd floor will look like. The cost of the condo is $17.5million, according to Business Insider.

The developer of the world’s tallest residential skyscraper released model photos showing what a condo on the 43rd floor of the building will look like. The image above shows a model of a dining table and salon with views toward Central Park from Central Park Tower

The master bedroom includes floor-to-celing windows that offer a view of downtown Manhattan

The apartment includes wraparound views of the entire city, including Midtown Manhattan

Central Park Tower is the luxury condo building at 217 West 57th Street. It topped out last fall at 1,550ft, making it taller than the roof of One World Trade Center and Chicago’s Willis Tower

The interior was designed by Pembrooke & Ives, the New York City-based luxury firm.

The idea was to accentuate the views of Central Park so that it could be seen from both the living and the dining room.

The master bedroom also has floor-to-ceiling windows that look toward downtown.

The master bathroom allows you to stare out at the city skyline from either a soaking tub or a walk-in shower.

The interior was designed by Pembrooke & Ives, the New York City-based luxury firm. The residence is selling for $17.5million

The condo also has a walk-in closet (as seen in the above image) with concealed LED strip lighting.

Anyone lucky enough to sleep in the guest suite will enjoy a view of another residential skyscraper – One57, the 75-story, 1,005ft tall tower that was developed by the same company

The master bathroom allows you to stare out at the city skyline from either a soaking tub or a walk-in shower.

The entrance to the condo looks quite glamorous, though it is not the most expensive apartment in the building

The residents of this apartment will be able to enjoy bird’s eye views of Central Park during the daytime as they sit in the living and dining rooms

The building is one of several along West 57th Street, which has been given the nickname ‘Billionaire’s Row’

The image above shows the kitchen and dining area as well as a view of Midtown Manhattan

The condo also has a walk-in closet with concealed LED strip lighting.

Anyone lucky enough to sleep in the guest suite will enjoy a view of another residential skyscraper – One57, the 75-story, 1,005ft tall tower that was developed by the same company.

The condo also includes a study which has custom-designed pale oak wall panels.

Residents are expected to begin moving in after construction on the building, which will have 179 residences that the developers hope will fetch a total of $4billion, will be completed sometime before the end of the year.

The $17.5million condo on the 43rd floor is not even the most expensive residence in the building.

Apartments now listed on the tower’s web site range from $6.9million for a 33rd floor, two-bedroom place, to $63million for a five-bedroom penthouse on the 112th floor.

It will feature ‘the world’s most exclusive club’ with a 60ft outdoor pool, sundecks and luxurious cabanas for its super-rich residents.

The Club, spread across 50,000 square feet, will provide a five-star beverage service so that homeowners can cool off during the summer, as well as a spa offering massages, facials and body treatments throughout the year.

A view over Midtown Manhattan shows New York’s Central Park Tower rising during its construction last year, as it soared towards its final height of 1,550ft, which was celebrated at its ‘topping off’ ceremony last September.

A view from Central Park Tower shows the Empire State Building and in the distance the One World Trade Center – New York’s tallest skyscraper. Upon completion the residential tower will be taller than the One World Trade Center at roof level, only losing out to the Freedom Tower’s huge spire

The building, just a short distance from Central Park, provides unrivaled views of Manhattan’s legendary 850 acre green space and its panoramas were presented to the world during a ceremony to mark its ‘topping off’ last fall

Apartments now listed on Central Park Tower’s website range from $6.9 million for a 33rd floor, two-bedroom to $63 million for a five-bedroom penthouse (Pictured: a woman relaxes with an Afghan Hound inside a luxurious apartment in demonstration pictures released by Extell Development Company)

The shadow of the Central Park Tower stretches over the west side of Manhattan as seen from the window of the building as it celebrates its topping out in New York.  Critics have complained the tall, skinny towers proliferating along the southern edge of Central Park over the last few years are casting shadows on the park

The largest penthouses, known as Duplex Residence Grand Salons, provide wall-to-wall views over the city and disguised structural elements to limit any impact on the panorama.

To get an idea of just how tall the building is, its roof height exceeds that of both One World Trade Center in downtown New York and Chicago’s Willis Tower.

Measured just to the roof, One World Trade’s height would be 1,368 feet. 

By comparison, Chicago’s Willis Tower is 1,451 feet when measured to the top of its roof and 1,729 feet when measured to the top of the television masts atop its roof.

Central Park Tower will be the world’s tallest building that is mostly residential, although there are other buildings with a residential component that will be taller.

Extell’s partners in the project include Nordstrom, which is building a seven-story department store at the building’s base.

Nordstrom department store will occupy the first seven floors of the West 57th Street building.

Floors eight to twelve will house amenity spaces for residents. The condominium residences begin on the 32nd floor and extend to the 131st floor.

The unveiling of the photos comes during a grim period for the luxury real estate market in New York City.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt the market an even bigger blow than both the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis.

Some high-end condos have seen their prices be reduced by more than 40 per cent as demand has declined due to the pandemic, the Journal is reporting.

In late July, Michael Price, a financier, sold his 9,000sq ft townhouse on the Upper East Side for $18.8million – which is 51 per cent less than his original asking price of $38million.

It will feature ‘the world’s most exclusive club’ with a 60ft outdoor pool, sundecks and luxurious cabanas for its super-rich residents (Pictured: a computer generated image of the outdoor terrace for The Club)

The Central Park Tower says on its website: ‘The fitness and wellness program at Central Park Club has been developed in collaboration with renowned fitness experts and operators. The Club’s spa will offer restorative treatments including massages, facials and body treatments’ (Pictured: a computer generated image of a pool in the indoor spa)

An opulent lobby within Central Park Tower in this digital representation of the finished building. The largest penthouses, known as Duplex Residence Grand Salons, provide wall-to-wall views over the city and disguised structural elements to limit any impact on the panorama.

Gorgeous views over Central Park were seen on Tuesday from the building’s 107th floor during the ceremony to celebrate the roof reaching its ultimate height of more than 1,500ft. The colossal tower sits on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row and will be opened next year

A man takes a photo of the stunning views over the south side of Manhattan during the topping off ceremony, as a chain can be seen dangling from a crane in the near distance

The Empire State Building rises above Manhattan in the far right window of an apartment inside of the Central Park Tower as it celebrates its topping off in New York

Price and his wife bought the property in 2003 for $14million, according to the Journal.

One Manhattan owner of a five-story home in Chelsea sold it for $14.99million – even though he first listed it for $36.8million in 2016.

Between March 23 and August 16, sales of homes in Manhattan dropped by 56 per cent compared to the same period as last year.

Sales of properties valued at $4million and up dipped by 67 per cent.

Overall, new listings in Manhattan declined by 21 per cent.

For luxury properties starting at $4million, new listings were down by nearly 35 per cent.

Real estate analysts blame the lockdown and the racial unrest for the precipitous decline in the market.

Buyers were unable to see the properties for themselves since social distancing guidelines prevented real estate agents from showing them the homes in person.

There was also the turmoil surrounding the protests and rioting in the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis.

Shops were boarded up and restaurants and museums had already been forced to shutter due to the lockdown.

The wealthy have also been scared off by proposals from progressive Democrats in New York to raise taxes, though Governor Andrew Cuomo has said he is opposed to doing so for fear that it would drive the rich out of the state for good.

But it doesn’t appear as if Central Park Tower is offering any discounts.

According to its web site, the offering price for seven available condos in the building has not changed despite the pandemic.

In March, when the lockdown went into effect, Extell suspended construction due to fears that workers were at risk of contracting COVID-19.

But a recent report by New York YIMBY indicates that work has resumed and is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.

A grand salon, a private reception gallery, and a library: How $63million will buy you a five-bedroom condo on the 112th floor of Central Park Tower

The most expensive condo in Central Park Tower will set you back $63million, according to the developer.

The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bathroom pad measures 7,074 square feet.

On top of the $63million asking price, the future resident will have to shell out a considerable amount in expenses.

The estimated monthly common charges for the building amount to $10,587.

Owning the apartment means paying more to the government by way of real estate taxes. 

According to the developer, the owner of the property will be expected to fork over $19,619 per month in taxes.

Photos of the interior have yet to be revealed, and there is no word if the property has been sold.

A floor plan of the most expensive property at Central Park Tower shows that it will include a grand salon, a private reception gallery, a family room, a sitting room, a library, a dressing room, and a master foyer

COVID-19 has also walloped the rental market throughout the city.

The number of vacant apartments for rent in New York City is at its highest level on record, as residents continue to flee the city amid soaring crime and pandemic restrictions.

In July, there were more than 67,300 unoccupied rental units available across the city, the most apartments available in any month since StreetEasy started tracking rental inventory in 2010.

The surge in vacancies has driven rental prices down some 10 percent across the city, as desperate landlords try to entice new tenants with discounts and sweeteners such as one free month, according to the New York Times.

In Manhattan alone, there were a reported 13,000 empty apartments for rent – the highest number in 14 years, according to Douglas Elliman.

The real estate firm released data showing that the number of new leases being signed has fallen by 23 per cent whereas the number of apartments that are available has doubled since last year.

It is slowly being reflected in rental prices. In July 2020, the average price of an apartment in Manhattan was $4,031 compared to $4,292 last July. 

Still, rents in New York remain among the highest in the nation, with the median rental price at $3,167 in July, a 10 percent drop from July 2019.

In July, there were more than 67,300 unoccupied rental units available across the city, this StreetEasy data shows

Driving the mass exodus from the city has been the misery caused by the coronavirus pandemic which killed hundreds a day at its peak in early April.

Though the virus has been wrestled well under control in the city, harsh lockdown rules still stifle many of the pleasures of city life, while unemployment has risen sharply, and violent crime has exploded in the months since late May.

In July, there were more than 67,300 unoccupied rental units available across the city, this StreetEasy data shows

Signs of life have returned to Times Square, seen above on Tuesday, but residents of New York continue to flee the city

People continue to move out of New York in droves, as the pain of lockdowns is replaced with the danger of soaring crime. Above, a Manhattan couple uses a U-Haul van to move out of the city in MayCrime and COVID force NYC rent prices to record lowsLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time2:55FullscreenNeed Text

The wealthy were among the first to flee, decamping to second homes and snapping up real estate in Connecticut and Rhode Island in the early days of lockdown in March and April.

They were followed by legions of young people: students, restaurant workers, Broadway theater hands and others who had no reason to continue paying sky-high rents in the city with universities and businesses shut down.

Between March 1 and May 1, some 420,000 people left the city, cell phone location data shows, and by some estimates the number may have exceeded one million in the months since, or 10 per cent of the city’s population.

Many of those who remained faced financial hardship.

The city’s latest unemployment rate, which was released in June, was over 20 percent — double the highs during the Great Recession of 2008, and approaching levels not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In early June, just as lockdown restrictions began to ease, a dangerous new chapter in the crisis began, when protests over racial injustice exploded into nights of looting and attacks on police.