Inside Extell’s One57

Inside Extell’s One57
A model apartment on the the 58th floor of One57.
Catherine Yang
Updated:

Extell Development’s One57 has been somewhat of a trendsetter, marking the start of glassy, super-luxury  high-rises on 57th Street and beyond. 

First the obvious units go, said Extell’s Gary Barnett at an open house Thursday (like the trophy penthouse investor Bill Ackman allegedly paid $90 million for). Then sales slow around 70 percent, and people want to get a look inside before they buy.

Units are about 80 percent sold now, according to representatives, and a three bedroom unit on the 58th is furnished for showings.

The $27 million apartment was furnished by interior designer Jamie Drake, who has designed the homes of former mayor Michael Bloomberg and pop icon Madonna. It comes furnished for $28.5 million.

It was a five month process, Drake explained; quick, because of all the custom furnishings.

“I walked in and saw the glory of the fabulous ceiling heights ... and these incredible north-south vistas,” Drake said.

So he dreamed up a client and created an expansive living room both fit for entertaining many, or comfortable for a single person to sit and work in. A Steinway grand piano sits opposite a round dining table beside the floor to ceiling windows. The foyer leading into it is meant to be celestial, with the bubbling of lights and microdusted walls.

Last year a unit on the 41st floor was given a similar treatment to help sell the lower level units.