Page 111 in this week’s Real Deal has a cute little article about 15 CPW having a lot of “East Side attitude.” The author discusses the fact that many notable buildings on the East Side don’t have names, they simply go by number, such as 960 Fifth, 998 Fifth, 740 Park, and 720 Park. On the West Side, buildings go by name, such as “The San Remo,” “The Beresford” and the “Oliver Cromwell.” If we buy into this, 15 Central Park West brings the “attitude” across the park. It is true that the actual front entrance of the building, located on Central Park West between 61st and 62nd Streets is fairly muted for a building which is very tall and houses 202 uber-expensive condos. Perhaps an air of ultra-exclusivity is making its way back across the park. I’ve definitely read more than one stat which shows that the price-per-square-foot on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side is now within a few dollars of each other–a stat which surprises many Ease Siders who assume their space is overall much pricier.

As for the traffic, it so happens that I have an apartment a few short blocks from 15 CPW. In completing the sidewalk on the blockfront between 61st and 62nd along the park, traffic is not allowed to pass into Columbus Circle from Central Park West. All cars must take a right on 62nd Street and take Broadway South to Columbus Circle. Not such a big deal, right? Wrong. At the very same time as 15 CPW is making itself beautiful, The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) is also doing a multi-lane construction project on 62nd and Broadway! The result, a backup of traffic from Lincoln Center down to Columbus Circle which takes 20 minutes to get past. Very annoying, especially considering the Central Park West construction is just about finished.

Best Buy finally opened about 10 days ago in part of the massive downstairs retail space of 15 Central Park West. Brilliant? Yup. Think about how many plasma TVs they will sell now that move-in dates are scheduled for the apartments upstairs.

I snapped a picture of the mail room while walking past the front of the building. Looks pretty nice. I wonder if the “lounge for towncar drivers” will be equally as nice.

This is the major source of traffic on 62nd and Broadway. It certainly doesn’t help that 15 CPW is forcing traffic West to Broadway on 62nd Street rather than opening up access to Columbus Circle. Looks like typical sidewalk construction to me.

All cars must turn from Central Park West onto 62nd Street and head down Broadway. Have a look.

At the end of the day, the traffic doesn’t bother me too much. I’m so impressed that this project sold out completely at such high prices that it gives me pleasure to walk by it each day. Plus, the celebrity roster (at this point Denzell Washington, Jeff Gordon, Lloyd Blankfein, Daniel Loeb, and Sting) is sort of shocking. A guy in Best Buy was explaining to me that Oprah is considering 15 CPW for a home as well. I can’t verify that, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense considering the building is sold out, but who knows–it would certainly be the icing on the cake for a successful project.

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