Keri Russell has kept busy since wrapping her critically acclaimed TV series “The Americans.” She filmed a role in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” out this December, and now stars opposite fellow “Star Wars” actor Adam Driver in the play “Burn This.” (June 26)
Ali Stroker booked her first musical theater gig at the tender age of seven, when she was cast as the title role in “Annie” in a friend’s backyard production in a New Jersey beach town. (June 4)
In a non-descript building in Miami, dancers kick the can-can, aerialists spin high in the air in rehearsals for an entertainment group that puts on more performances a year than New York’s Broadway and London’s West End combined (May 3).
As another Broadway season draws to a close, the opening of “Hadestown” marks its only musical directed by a woman, Tony nominee Rachel Chavkin. (April 16)
We set out to find out why this apartment is $28.5 million and learn about the history of New York’s real estate market along the way. The reality TV star and top NYC broker Ryan Serhant delves into the details of the super-rich real-estate and who the buyer could be.
Following is a transcript of the video:
Narrator: A couple months ago, I was scrolling through YouTube and saw this video of an apartment on Billionaires’ Row in New York City. It’s on the 41st floor of this ultra-luxurious tower called On e57. Sitting right off West 57th Street with views of Central Park, it’s listed at a whopping $28.5 million. It’s hard to comprehend why it’s so expensive and if there’s even a market for it. So I reached out to the realtor, Ryan Serhant, hoping he could help me unpack the world of Billionaires’ Row. You may recognize Ryan from Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing.” And he invited me uptown to check out On e57 for myself. Ready, we’re going there. One57 towers almost a thousand feet above West 57th Street. But before the building opened in 2014, this wasn’t really a residential street. It was known for Carnegie Hall, tourists, and delis. But One57 put West 57th Street on the map, breaking records for listing prices and coining the street Billionaires’ Row. The first 27 floors of One57 are reserved for the five-star Park Hyatt hotel, but the next 48 are residential. Walking in, I was actually pretty surprised by how homey it felt. Yeah, the lobby was classy, but there was this familiar and casual buzz of people just living their normal lives, and that was really nice. We took the elevator to the 41st floor and met Ryan at apartment 41D.
Ryan Serhant: Hello. Welcome to One57.
Narrator: Right away, it’s gorgeous. 12-foot ceilings, exquisite decor, and that new building smell. But it’s those views that obviously add to the price tag.
Serhant: This unit that we’re in right now, 41D, is a duplex. It’s got five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and it has an outdoor covered garden.
Narrator: Apparently, that outdoor garden, or the solarium, is a rare architectural feature.
Serhant: The building kinda curves as it goes up. It keeps stepping back, you create these rooms. So you can sit here, you can get a tan, for the 41st floor on Billionaires’ Row. It’s totally crazy.
Narrator: Just off the solarium, there’s a private terrace, and it’s one of just two apartments in the building with an outdoor space. After the views and solarium, the duplex layout of the apartment keeps the price tag ticking up. The second floor has four bedrooms, including the master suite, with arguably better views than the floor below. The en suite master bathroom is made completely of marble, imported from Italy, of course. You’ve got a walk-in shower, free-standing tub, and two toilets, you know, just in case. Back downstairs, the massive eat-in kitchen had a couple hidden features.
Serhant: Like this looks like it might be cabinetry, but it blends in. These are actually your bar stools.
Narrator: Around every corner, there was some new design element. A fluffy chair, a perfectly sized rug, that optimized the space. It made for this relaxed, luxurious vibe. And, of course, none of that was by accident.
Serhant: And even if the buyer has $30 million to spend, you’d be amazed at how unimaginative they can be. So, we have to show them. And everyone we’ve shown this apartment to would take it fully furnished, ’cause they just love it.
Narrator: Buyers can choose to keep all of the staged furnishings, and thank goodness, the price tag includes the furniture. But what’s a billion-dollar building without amenities to match? On the 31st floor, residents get a giant amenities space all to themselves. There’s a billiards room, screening room, gym, and a pool, with music piped in from Carnegie Hall across the street. But the never-ending climbing wall was definitely my personal favorite. This isn’t what I anticipated doing today. Since its construction, One57 has pushed up real estate prices across the neighborhood. From 57th Street to 59th Street between Park Avenue and Broadway, median sale prices rose 64.3% from 2010 to 2018.
(9 Jan 2019) Highlights of Today in History: Former U.S. President Richard Nixon is born, Howard Hughes identifies fake biography, Unmanned probe lands on moon, the Phantom of the Opera becomes the longest running Broadway show. (Jan
(13 Dec 2018) If you couldn’t get tickets to Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway performance, you can watch it at home on Netflix in a new film by director Thom Zimny, who has a long relationship with “The Boss.” (Dec. 13)
(10 Dec 2018) Aaron Sorkin is returning to Broadway with an adaptation of the beloved Harper Lee novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” He says while writing the play, real world events seeped in, like President Trump’s decision to not denounce white supremacists rallying in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Dec. 10)
