Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times The Century condominium building. Two condominiums high in the north tower of the venerable Century at 25 Central Park West that were marketed as a single entity â€" to assemble a full-floor residence with panoramic views â€" sold for $14 million, the most expensive sale of the week, according to city records.
The unusual opportunity for an outsider to buy a lofty floor in its entirety at the Century, and to acquire 2,962 square feet of interior space and spectacular park frontage, inspired a bidding war that quickly eclipsed the asking price of $12.5 million.
The aggregate monthly carrying charges for the 29th-floor units, which will be combined by the buyer into a nine-room residence, No. 29QR, are $7,707. Among the Century’s outdoor amenities are a common roof deck, a courtyard and a garden.
Previously known as No. 29O+Q, the larger unit, at 2,106 square feet, sold for $10.08 million. It has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, beamed ceilings, period molding and expansive windows. The grand living room faces the park, as do the eat-in kitchen and the corner master. The other unit, No. 29R, a recently renovated one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath, 856-square-foot apartment with views of the western and southern cityscape from its corner bedroom, sold for $3.92 million. As the small but coveted piece necessary to complete a two-part jigsaw puzzle, it garnered a premium price for its seller, Tomas Lajous, in a brokerage firm-concocted combination in which each apartment enhanced the value of the other.
Amy Katcher of the Corcoran Group represented the sale of the larger unit for Living Investments, a limited-liability company in Southport, Conn. Robby Browne and Chris Kann of Corcoran had the listing for the smaller unit, and Mr. Browne also brought the buyer, identified as CPW2 L.L.C., to the two-pronged deal.
The Century, an Art Deco landmark between 62nd and 63rd Streets, was designed by Irwin Chanin and built on the site of a performance space, the Century Theater, in 1931. The building is one of just three condominiums among the fortress of co-ops that dominate Central Park West below 88th Street.
Ms. Katcher said the twin attractions of a combination unit on a preferred floor at the Century had driven the deal. “The intention behind it was to create a single, full-floor residence,†she said. “And it is just really rare to get a full-floor condo in a tower in a prewar, full-service building in a hot area. It was a bargain compared to what it would cost anyplace else, and the unobstructed views are actually superior to what you’d get elsewhere: There are views from every room in this apartment.â€
With several rooms providing views in multiple directions, and not a neighbor in sight, the potential residence promised a level of privacy and gracious living rare in this crowded city, she said.
Big Ticket includes closed residential sales from the previous week, ending Wednesday.
