Harry Macklowe’s $2 billion-plus condo conversion of the former Irving Bank tower at One Wall Street has been a retail gift to Fidi — but its mostly unsold apartments look like a lump of coal for Macklowe.
As the neighborhood cheers the building’s handsome restoration and awaits the first US location of French luxury department store Printemps this spring, real estate legend Macklowe is struggling to sell luxury homes.
Since sales began in late 2021, deals have closed on a mere 112 of 566 apartments, a Post study of public records found. The deed transfers are listed on the city Finance Department’s ACRIS site.
Macklowe said in the past that he was taking the long view and didn’t expect One Wall Street to sell out overnight. Even so, the snail’s-pace sales compelled one irreverent FiDi market-watcher to snark, “They aren’t moving like tube socks at a street fair.”
Although one large unit sold for $6.17 million, most purchases were in the $800,00- to-$2 million range. Their total value of about $230 million represents just 14% of a projected $1.7 billion sellout – which doesn’t include a triplex penthouse that’s yet to be priced.
Despite 100,000 square feet of residents’ amenities including a private dining room and a 75-foot pool, early sales were so sluggish that Macklowe needed a $300 million “inventory” loan from Deutsche Bank last year to cover the unsold apartments.
Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal and research firm Miller Samuel, told The Post this week: “While the area is a prime office-to-residential opportunity, the limited amount of sales above the $2 million threshold and the large discounts from ask seen in many sales suggest pricing is disconnected from what the market can absorb.”
The area below Chambers Street has more than 220,000 condo units, not far below the 262,000 rentals, according to the Downtown Alliance. Thousands are unsold, including in brand-new buildings such as 125 Greenwich St. where 272 units recently went up for grabs.
The median price for FiDi and Battery Park City condos dipped from $1.275 million in the second quarter of 2023 to $985,000 in the third quarter this year, the Alliance reported.
Although One Wall Street is often portrayed as part of downtown’s family-friendly residential renaissance, more than half of purchasers identified on ACRIS are in the names of apparently foreign-based buyers from Japan, China, India and Russia who likely bought apartments as investments. Some are already up for rent.
The most recently recorded purchase was on Nov. 4 of unit 1810, a 753 square-foot, one-bedroom that sold for $1.4 million, by an entity called “Thirdwave Corp. Fictitious Name Thirdwave Japan.”
One Wall Street consists of the original 50-story 1931 building designed by Ralph Walker, an Art Deco masterpiece, and a 35-story annex on south end added from 1963-1965. Macklowe bought the then-vacant property at the Broadway corner in 2014 and later spent five years painstakingly restoring it.
He lured a massive Whole Foods Market and a 75,000 square-foot Life Time wellness center. Printemps will be the crown jewel, with five restaurants and the restored, recently landmarked “Red Room,” a former banking lobby that was off-limits to the public.
Macklowe dumped two sales brokerages, Core Real Estate and Compass, and is now marketing the units with his own team — which a project spokesperson said was accelerating the pace of sales.
The rep said, “With twelve contracts signed in the last eight weeks, another four contracts out now, and more interest and offers every day, we are very pleased with the velocity of sales.”
The rep added, “In the last 90 days, we have issued contracts that span the unit mix ranging from around $1 million to over $9 million. Many recent buyers have been local and even hyperlocal.”
Macklowe is meanwhile dealing with lawsuits over alleged apartment defects at 432 Park Ave. and with an attempt by Fortress Investment Group to foreclose on East Midtown properties he hoped to redevelop.
But Macklowe’s shown a Houdini-like skill at extricating himself from disaster. “Never think Harry’s down for the count,” a major dealmaker said.
