A profile of the Centurion Condominium, located on 56th street between 5th and 6th avenues. Notice the curved, cascading terraces and thinning vertical presence which differentiates this building from more typical ‘wedding-cake’ setbacks.

Overview

How often can a new residential development in New York City boast I.M. Pei as an architect on the project? Not that frequently, and it will probably never happen again. It took the strong relationships between the Pei and Antonio families, along with Stillman Development International, to bring this project to fruition. More specifically, both Pei and the Antonio families are in the process of transitioning their businesses to the younger generation. Roy Stillman brings to the table his experience in New York, having recently finished The Metropolitan, a Philip Johnson-designed tower on the Upper East Side. The result of the partnership is a guarantee of the very best ideas, materials, and marketing that one could ask for. I had a chance to sit down with Michele Conte, director of sales for Centurion, who gave me the scoop on this incredible condo.

Units & Prices

The building will house 48 condos, sporting 31 different layouts on 19 total floors. 13 of the apartments will feature outdoor space which is uniquely tied into the beautiful architecture of the building. Because of city requirements regarding adequate light reaching 56th street, the building has a square base which gradually thins out through a series of setback terraces which are built directly into the limestone and granite facade. Considering the height of the building over most of its neighbors, residents facing the front (south) will get excellent midtown views. However, because midtown is full of skyscrapers, the north views will be mostly into the glass facade of commercial and residential towers located nearby. One interesting exposure will be from the 1-bedroom units facing 57th street. Just under their noses will be a beautiful reflecting pool (properly referred to as a water garden) which is located at the back of the lobby. Ms. Conte joked that Mr. Pei had asked if the water garden would be open to residents and their guests, but it was ultimately decided that people unknowingly tossing coins into the water could put the carefully designed area at risk.

Of the 48 residences, apartment sizes range from 1-4 bedrooms, and square footage comes in between 750 and 3,400 feet. You won’t find much on the lower end as most of the one-bedrooms are over 1,000 feet and have generous layouts that leave plenty of room for imaginative buyers. There will be three penthouses as well, although Ms. Conte indicated that 2 of them are already taken. The average sales price, so far, has been $2,804 per foot. Sound expensive? Some might actually call it a bargain, with ceilings ranging from 10-17 feet and a facade that is not only limestone, but a very specific cut imported from France. With Pei on as architect, ensuring painstaking attention to detail, some might watch in amazement as these prices join the ballpark of The Plaza and 15 Central Park West. 7 units have been sold thus far, but the project is still young and the large marketing push is yet to come.

Monthly carrying charges are slightly on the high side, coming in around $1.50/foot, but the coveted 421-A tax abatement will keep the total monthly charges reasonable for the time being.

Features and Amenities

We’ve already mentioned the fact that Pei covered the entire facade in imported limestone. The lobby renderings are beautiful as well, boasting more limestone, a marble and leather-wrapped concierge desk, and a beautiful light-colored Anigre wood on the walls. The lobby will be tended 24 hours per day, as is the garage in the building. I read some criticism on Wired about the decision to include a garage, but I quickly learned that Mr. Pei would never tolerate retail space in his boutique building. There will also be a live-in superintendent and fee-based resident’s assistant. Fee-based? Yes, these will not be fixed costs in your monthly carrying charges. You can pay a flat fee if you need to charter a jet, have you pets tended to, or whatever the case may be.

Each apartments will have a Bosch washer and dryer. Teak floors will cover all the primary rooms and the bathrooms and power rooms will have marble, limestone, or porcelain. As we mentioned, ceilings heights are above average and never dip below 10 feet. This gives the units a lofty feel in addition to their generous square footage. The kitchens will have custom walnut cabinets, 1/2-inch-thick clear glass countertops (I’ve never seen this before) glass tile backsplash, oversized Sub-Zero fridge, and Wolf range. The dishwasher is Bosch and the faucets and other finishing touches are polished chrome. Certain master bathrooms will have steam showers.

Notice the widely varying mix of architecture, retail, and residential which lines 56th street between 5th and 6th avenues. If you check the city records, some of these buildings are already owned by developers who will eventually gentrify the block

Location

I find it unlikely that potential buyers would criticize the architecture, layouts, features, or amenities at the Centurion. What may come under some fire is the direct midtown location. While positive in the sense that you can easily access retail, transportation, restaurants, and Central Park, you must contend with a high number of cars, trucks, and people. Where do all these people come from? Besides all the employees working in the skyscrapers on both 5th and 6th Avenues, 56th street is home to a truly eclectic mix of smaller businesses. You can sort of tell by the photos below, but once you pass the side-entrances to both 720 and 712 Fifth Avenue, you encounter a dozen or so delis, hair salons, restaurants, and a boutique hotel. Give the block ten years and it will probably look very different, but for now the street remains densely populated.

I asked Ms. Conte about the possibility of noise, which one of my readers wrote in about, and the answer is sort of what you may expect. The building materials are the best one could ask for in terms of noise prevention–thick double-paned glass with space in between to absorb sound. The street quiets down in the evening and anywhere you go in New York you should expect a certain degree of noise coming from garbage trucks, fire trucks, intoxicated people, and who knows what else. It’s all part of being a New Yorker.

A view of 56th street looking west.

Fifth Avenue looking south

The Chambers Hotel located at 15 West 56th street with the highly-rated Town restaurant inside.

Investment Potential

I have to believe that having Pei on the project is a permanent selling point for resale. It’s an issue of supply and demand. Buyers, especially international buyers, want an architect/developer team they’ve heard of and trust. And the people in a financial position to own in these buildings usually won’t fuss about paying market price–especially during a good economy. If you’re buying in Euros or Yen right now, you’re buying on sale. Owners can also brag about the remarkable attention to detail which went into constructing the building. Is it worth close to $3,000 per foot? I think it may be. At the very least, contact Michele at MConte@centurioncondominium.com. We rate the building an A- and look forward to sales updates over the coming months.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 11:08 am and is filed under Centurion Condos - 33 West 56th Street. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.