Developers and architects in Manhattan have found a winning formula for turning even tiny lots into piles of cash: Secure the air rights and build towering, pencil-thin condo towers with incredible views that buyers will pay equally incredible sums for.
There are currently 49 Manhattan condo buildings with units selling for more than $15 million, up from 33 in 2009, the New York Times reports, citing CityRealty. That’s partly due to rising home prices, but another 20 or so high-rise condo buildings are under construction or planned.
Developer Bruce Eichner plans to build a condo tower that will soar nearly 800 feet into the air on a lot south of Madison Square Park that’s just 50 feet wide, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“So long as the zoning in key parts of Manhattan is without height restrictions and developers can assemble the needed air rights from neighboring property owners, the building boom stands to change the New York skyline, sprinkling it with needle-like towers that reach to the skies,” the Wall Street Journal surmises. Source: therealdeal.com.
