A chiseled midsection on the Upper West Side

Checking in at 50 West 66th

REAL ESTATE • FOUND Development

Currently rising between Lincoln Center and Central Park, Extell’s 50 West 66th Street will be the tallest building on the Upper West Side when it’s completed sometime in 2024 or 2025 — and not without controversy. Back in the go-go pre-pandemic days, the building’s construction got hung up when the city attempted to stop developers from building taller, by inserting huge mechanical floors (which don’t count against zoning rules). In the end, Extell won, and 50 West 66th will rise 69 stories and contain 127 condo units when completed. 

The design is by starchitecture firm Snøhetta, with inspiration from the “chiseled stone of Manhattan’s geologic legacy.” In practice, the building splits as it rises, allowing for a gorgeous shared terrace on the 16th floor (above). Other amenities include an outdoor salt water pool and tennis/pickleball courts. 

Extell has opted to market the development quietly via floorplans, with no flashy website. Deals are getting done: in March, #3D, a 5BR/5.5BA apartment with an 880 SF terrace, asking $12.025M; in January, #48S, a 4BR with Central Park views asking $22.75M; and, back in December 2022, combined units #47S-#47N for the total price of $45.5M, to name three contracts reported by Olshan. Rock on.

→ 50 West 66th Street (Upper West Side), Developer: Extell.