In 2017, an exquisite penthouse apartment inside New York's iconic Woolworth Building hit the market. Spanning almost 10,000 square feet, the property was aptly named the Pinnacle, but despite its magnificent design and jaw-dropping Manhattan views, the apartment struggled to find a buyer. After six years and countless price cuts, one lucky buyer has finally snapped the place up, for £63 million ($80m) less than the original asking price. Click or scroll on to find out more...
The prime piece of real estate is nestled inside the Woolworth Building’s famous copper top and laid out across five floors, which is perhaps why it garnered the nickname 'Castle in the Sky'. As well as the sprawling interior, the apartment also boasts a private 408-square-foot observatory terrace with spectacular city views. Amazingly, the residence was originally priced at £86.6 million ($110m) when it first hit the market in 2017, making it among the most expensive listings New York City had ever seen.
However, perhaps unsurprisingly, the property proved somewhat unsellable. The lack of interest might have had something to do with the fact that the interior of the penthouse isn't finished. In fact, it's a vacant shell, reportedly to offer future residents a blank slate to customise. However, these renderings show how the pad could look after a rather large cash injection!
According to The Wall Street Journal, the buyer of the penthouse is Scott Lynn, the CEO of Masterworks, an online platform for art investment. He forked out £23.6 million ($30m) for the place – £63 million ($80m) less than the sellers originally wanted. For his money, Lynn not only gained the Pinnacle, but the apartment on the 49th floor, too. This means Lynn will now be able to enjoy a total of 12,000 square feet of interior space once the units are combined.
The CEO bagged himself a bargain considering the original asking price. Over the years, the luxurious penthouse has fluctuated in price, dropping to £62 million ($79m) in 2021 before being chopped again to £46.4 million ($59m). Ken Horn, the president of Alchemy Properties, the company that developed the Woolworth Building, told the WSJ that the final sale price was “not a good number”, adding that to finish the apartment Lynn will have to spend “tens of millions” more.
Lynn can choose between two architecturally impressive interior design options: a traditional scheme by Thierry W. Despont (pictured here) – think parquet floors, panelled walls and crystal chandeliers – and a modern scheme by prominent New York architect David Hotson, with spiral staircases, endless glass and all-white décor. He could also opt to go his own way, creating a one-of-a-kind home, unlike anything the Big Apple has seen before. Watch this space...
So, what makes the Woolworth Building so special? Well, the neo-Gothic structure was commissioned by retail tycoon Frank Winfield Woolworth and built in 1913. It was designed by American architect Cass Gilbert, and housed the Woolworth offices as well as the headquarters of global giants such as Columbia Records and Nestlé, to name a few. In fact, it was dubbed the 'Cathedral of Commerce'. Stretching up 58 storeys, the treasured tower was the tallest in the world until 1930. It was made a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
Then, in 2012, Alchemy Properties bought the top 30 storeys of the tower, with plans to convert them into 33 luxurious apartments – including the five-storey penthouse. The project took years and a lot of careful planning. Due to the building's location, a crane couldn't be installed to lift materials inside, so the builders could only use items that could be carried manually and would fit inside the building's elevators. To meet New York light and ventilation requirements, the Pinnacle also had to feature a staggering 125 windows.
Fast forward to 2017 and architect Thierry W. Despont, who undertook the renovation of the Statue of Liberty and the Ritz Hotel Paris, embarked on a sensitive restoration of the iconic site. As part of the transformation, he restored Frank Winfield Woolworth’s original swimming pool. The 50-foot lap pool, sauna and hot tub are just some of the benefits of calling this iconic tower home. Following Lynn's purchase of the Pinnacle and the apartment on the 49th floor, the developers can finally say they've sold out the building, 11 years after the project began.
Read on to take a tour of more remarkable live-in landmarks...
From iconic skyscrapers to historic train stations, these famous buildings from around the world are more than just tourist hotspots. Thanks to the daring designs of ambitious architects, an array of unique residences have sprung up in some of the most celebrated structures. Let's take a look at the stunning contemporary homes hiding behind these familiar façades...
The Barbican Estate is undoubtedly one of London's most iconic buildings. A showcase of brutalist architecture, the one-of-a-kind structure was built in 1982 and is home to around 2,000 flats, as well as a performing arts centre that's the largest of its kind in Europe. It also houses a library, three restaurants and a conservatory – not to mention an amazing central water feature around which the building's homes are set.
At the heart of the estate is Shakespeare Tower, a 44-storey residential building with 40 floors of apartments and two penthouses. It was designed in 1976 by Chamberlin, Powell & Bon and at one time was in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest residential building in Europe.
Homes inside the brutally beautiful building are highly sought-after, thanks to their unusual mid-century modern aesthetic. This flat, for example, sold in late 2022 for just shy of £1.6 million ($2m). That's despite the fact it only measures around 1,100 square feet and comes with a compact living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms and an office.
Yet the Barbican's pièce de résistance has to be its former estate office, which was converted into a five-bedroom home by architects Ken Mackay and Tracey Wiles. The pad landed on the market in early 2016, with a £4.5 million ($5.7m) asking price. According to The Guardian, it also came with a £12,000 ($15.3k) annual service charge. With its exposed concrete walls, double-height ceilings and wow-factor minimalistic design, it's no wonder the house commanded such a high price tag.
Located on New York's prestigious Fifth Avenue, Trump Tower's mirrored façade is a unique part of the Manhattan skyline. Construction began on the building in 1979, with Donald Trump purchasing the air rights around Tiffany's famous flagship department store next door for the ambitious project.
Home of the Trump Organization's offices, the public spaces are overflowing with billionaire-worthy design details, such as 240 tonnes of pink, white-veined marble. Four gold-hued elevators take visitors from the lobby to the higher floors, with a private elevator reserved for members of the Trump family.
No stranger to the cameras, the tower served as both the headquarters for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the filming location for the US version of The Apprentice. However, the skyscraper is also home to an array of private residences, too. On the market in 2018 for £19.3 million ($24.5m), this modern duplex condo sits directly below Donald Trump's penthouse.
Once the tallest glass structure in New York City, the tower's glitzy residences offer panoramic views across Central Park and Downtown Manhattan. The building contains 238 apartments across 58 floors, with amenities including a concierge, valet and fitness centre available to deep-pocketed homeowners.
After the Bankside Power Station on London's River Thames was transformed into the Tate Modern art gallery, property developers caught on to the idea of redeveloping one of the city's most iconic riverfront structures, Battersea Power Station. Designed in the early 1930s by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the iconic building was built to meet the industrial demands of the City of London. It continued to pump energy well into the 1980s, at which point it was decommissioned and left abandoned.
Since its closure, numerous plans were put forward for its redevelopment but nothing much happened until 2012, when the station was purchased by SP Setia, Sime Darby Property and the Employees Provident Fund, for a reported £500 million ($636m). The following year, an extensive renovation project began, with the aim of transforming a 42-acre site around the Power Station into a new community of homes, restaurants and green spaces. Of course, the historic building played a key role in the redesign.
Battersea Power Station's first residential apartments went on sale in 2013, some with asking prices as high as £8 million ($10.2m). The site now boasts 250 high-end apartments, while the land surrounding it was developed into 800 new homes, as well as offices, cafes and independent businesses. Celebrities have even taken an interest and rock star, Sting, is said to own an apartment in the complex.
Luckily, due to the building's listed status, the developers were told they had to retain its Art Deco structure, its six million bricks and its iconic chimneys, each of which towers up 164 feet. Now complete and brought back from the brink, the redevelopment scheme is one of the most successful projects of its kind. In 2018, the Power Station reportedly sold for £1.6 billion ($2bn) to Malaysian investors.
Towering over the Dubai skyline, the Burj Khalifa takes the crown as the tallest building in the world. The stand-out landmark stretches a whopping 160 floors, housing lavish accommodation, as well as offices and the world's highest outdoor observation deck.
From studios to four-bedroom suites, this striking structure has 900 luxurious apartments for those who can afford the tower's jaw-dropping price tags. The most coveted apartments in the skyscraper, however, are the exclusive Armani Residences, with interiors designed by Giorgio Armani, featuring opulent décor and furnishings from the world-renowned fashion house.
Fancy soaking up breathtaking views of the Dubai skyline and the rolling desert? A slice of the high life doesn't come cheap. In 2016, this four-bedroom, five-bathroom residence hit the market with Knight Frank for a staggering £14.9 million ($19m).
The grand redbrick façade of St Pancras International is a famous fixture of the London cityscape. With railway services running from the station since 1868, it's a renowned thoroughfare for commuters and tourists and is considered a masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture.
For those wanting a headstart on the morning commute, the majestic Grade I-listed structure also houses some pretty breathtaking apartments in its lofty upper levels. Designed by George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1876, the former station accommodation has been given a modern facelift in recent years.
With 67 residences, the luxurious landmark offers state-of-the-art accommodation in a structure steeped in history. This particular triplex penthouse was on the market in 2018 for £4.5 million ($5.7m) with Knight Frank, and features a living room with a spectacular 44-foot ceiling.
Who would have thought that a series of former chemical containers could be turned into luxury living spaces? The Austrians clearly did when they converted these 19th-century gas tanks in Vienna into a swanky housing complex.
The four cylindrical containers were built as part of the city’s municipal gas works between 1896 and 1899. Used as gas storage units until their eventual closure in 1984, the structures were left vacant until 1995, when plans were put forward to turn the containers into luxury apartments. Talk about an extraordinary home conversion!
Today the Gasometers function as a micro-city within a city, with each cylinder featuring apartments at the top, offices in the middle and commercial spaces on the ground floor. Each building is interconnected by sky bridges, for a lofty take on communal living.
Designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners for the Hoover Company – the people behind the vacuum cleaner – in 1933, this Grade II-listed building is one of the finest examples of British Art Deco design. The Second World War led to its conversion into an aeroplane factory, after which its owners struggled to revive the building, selling its ground floor to the Tesco supermarket chain in the late 1980s.
Today, the Hoover Building is finally experiencing the revival it deserves. IDM Properties transformed the original structure in 2015, turning it into a complex of luxury properties. The sensitive conversion work sought to create contemporary homes that still retain the building’s vintage aesthetic.
The interior communal spaces have been harmoniously upgraded, combining Art Deco features with contemporary design. Original ironmongery and door frames from the period are juxtaposed with whitewashed walls for a sleek and stylish scheme.
Each of its one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments has a bright and airy feel, with newly installed floor-to-ceiling windows and a neutral colour scheme. All apartments include bespoke kitchens and modern bathrooms, while the second-floor apartments benefit from newly added balconies, too.
Known as Liberty Tower, this enchanting Gothic Revival-style building in New York City was designed by Henry Ives Cobb in 1909. Initially opened as a commercial space, the law office of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who would later become President of the United States, was one of the first tenants to occupy the 33-floor tower in 1910. Upon its completion, Liberty Tower was said to be the world's tallest building with such a small footprint. Today, it's considered one of the city's oldest skyscrapers.
Soon after the Second World War, Sinclair Oil acquired the building, and in 1979 it was turned into residential apartments. The striking building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1982 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Today, the structure is home to some seriously amazing apartments that only the very rich can afford.
Properties inside the building benefit from plenty of unique architectural details, such as angular ceilings, large sash windows and broken-plan footprints. Occupants of the building also have 24-hour door staff and a live-in superintendent to take care of any maintenance jobs. According to City Realty, the average apartment in the building goes for £670 ($853) per square foot, but some are certainly more expensive than that...
In February 2023, the building's penthouse apartment hit the market with Corcoran for £1.4 million ($1.8m) but the price has since been dropped to just under £1.2 million ($1.5m). The top-floor unit has just two bedrooms and two bathrooms, measuring 1,700 square feet in total. There's a lovely traditional living room, a kitchen, a home office and a cinema room. The pad also enjoys views of the tower's unique exterior details, which include statues of birds, alligators, flowers and gargoyles.
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