Joe Tsai Buys Penthouse at 220 Central Park West for $190 Million
Photo Courtesy of Robert A.M. Stern Architects
The hubbub over a white-hot Billionaires’ Row condo building continues. In January, a penthouse at 220 Central Park West sold for $190 million – more than double what the owner paid for it in 2019.
Those paying attention to the sales happening at the popular building are probably familiar with the names involved in the latest noteworthy transaction. Daniel Och purchased the unit, Penthouse 73, for $93 million in 2019. Och, the founder of the Och-Ziff Capital Management hedge fund, sold the 9,800-square-foot, four-bedroom penthouse to another billionaire: Joe Tsai.
According to property records, Blue Pool Capital purchased Penthouse 73. Blue Pool manages the wealth of Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba, and Jack Ma. The firm paid $188 million for the unit, taking out a $71.5 million 30-year mortgage through JPMorgan Chase.
Penthouse 73 isn’t the first unit acquired by Tsai and his firm. In July 2021, Blue Pool acquired a unit on the 60th floor for $82.5 million and another on the 61st floor for $75 million. At the time, the sale was the second largest in the city’s history.
The $190 million acquisition of Penthouse 73 now holds the title of the second-largest real estate sale in NYC history. All told, Tsai and his firm own more than $345 million of real estate at 220 Central Park West.
As pricey as the sale was, it still pales in comparison to the largest in NYC. Billionaire Ken Griffin paid $239 million for a penthouse in the building in early 2019. Although Griffin owns the most expensive unit in the building, Tsai owns more value in the property.
Although he unloaded the penthouse at 220 CPW, Och still has property on Billionaires’ Row. Although he put it on the market for a bit in 2019, listing it at $57.5 million, Och ultimately chose to hold onto his residence at 15 Central Park West.
With interiors by Thierry Despont and overall design by esteemed architect Robert A.M. Stern, 220 Central Park West has been a resounding success since its inception. The property consists of two buildings: an 18-story “villa” fronting Central Park and a 66-story, 950-foot tower with 118 luxury condos.
Both buildings’ facades are made of Alabama Silver Shadow limestone, a favorite of Stern’s. The exterior is also enhanced by ornamental metalwork, Juliet balconies and setback terraces, affording residents with plenty of opportunities for fresh air. An arcade with a porte-cochere on 58th Street connects the two buildings.
220 Central Park West was built on the site of a rent-stabilized apartment building constructed in the 1950s. The 20-story property had 125 units. Work started on the base of the new building in 2015. The first tenants moved in around late 2018.
As of September 2018, 83% of units at the property were under contract. Even amid the pandemic, sales activity abounded across the building. During the pandemic, in fact, 220 Central Park Wet had $1.52 billion in combined sales. Across a one-year period ending in 2020, 46 units were sold.
The January sale, the second largest in the city’s history, included a one-bedroom unit on the 19th floor that was listed at $2 million. Tsai, co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets, joins many other high-net-worth individuals at the property. Most tenants’ names are kept private, but many other business magnates own condos there. The most famous celebrities in the building are musician Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler.
Located in Midtown Manhattan between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, 220 Park Avenue West has been one of the most successful new luxury condo towers along Billionaires’ Row. The building primarily offers duplex apartments, but some have been combined to create larger residences. For example, an 11,000-square-foot duplex on the 50th and 51st floors was combined with three units on the 52nd and 53rd floors to create a “mega condo.”
Among the most luxurious residential towers in Manhattan, 220 Central Park West offers high-end condos with custom millwork, high-end oak flooring and marble cladding on kitchen islands and baths. The property owner has released very little information about the designs of units in the building, but it appears that there are more than 40 unique floorplans.
The doorman building offers a laundry list of high-end amenities. It features a residents’ only restaurant on the 2nd floor, for example, with 54 seats. Other amenities include an 82-foot-long saltwater swimming pool, a basketball court, a gym, a juice bar, a golf simulator, a library and a children’s play area. There’s also a wine cellar and private dining rooms.
Today, the building is almost sold out; more than $1 billion in sales has been completed. Owning a unit at 220 Central Park West has become a status symbol for the wealthiest people in the country, generating record sales prices again and again.
The January 2022 sale of Penthouse 73 is the second-largest in history, but how long will it retain that title? As New York’s residential housing market continues surging post-pandemic, more records are apt to be set within the building before very long.
Given that Och could nearly double the investment he made just three years ago, it’s safe to say that interest in the building will continue for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned to BCP Real Estate Group for ongoing coverage of significant real estate transactions across the NYC housing market – especially along Billionaires’ Row.