New towers for the rich soar in New York

[n2doc]

Rick Hampson, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Here's how a 1932 guide to Manhattan describes the view of Central Park from the 43-story Essex House: "an unbroken vista — unequaled anywhere in the city. ... Few apartment buildings in the world are more ideally located."

Today, here's how visitors typically describe the park view from One57, an apartment building a block south of the Essex House and more than twice its height: "Wow!"

The same can be said of the building itself. One57 exemplifies a new type of skyscraper — very tall, improbably slender, ostentatiously opulent — that is reshaping a famous skyline composed mostly of bulky office buildings.

One such apartment tower under construction, 432 Park Avenue, will have a top floor higher than the Empire State Building's observation deck. Another will have a top floor higher than any in One World Trade Center, which is officially (by virtue of its spire) the nation's tallest building.

The 432 Park penthouse has sold for $95 million; two duplex apartments at One57, now nearing completion, also are under contract, each for more than $90 million. Even a studio apartment on a lower floor at 432 Park (designed for staff — a maid or butler) costs $1.59 million.

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/12/new-york-high-rise-boom/4005289/

[underpants]

1. I read a few months ago that Argentinians are buying up all kinds of real estate in NYC

[FarCenter]

2. Manhattan's future is as a residential enclave for high net worth individuals.

Industry on Manhattan is uneconomical because transportation to/from Manhattan is extremely expensive.

As digital business processes eliminate paper and automate logic, the need for office buildings to house filing cabinets, desks, and office workers is eliminated.