Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 18th, 2013

Yesterday’s announcement that Steve Witkoff is in contract to buy the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South for $ 650 million and construct a new residential tower leads me to believe that Central Park South, once associated with hoards of tourists and horse-drawn carriages, and already home to the Plaza Hotel (with its record-breaking condo. pricing) and Essex House is going to be the next Central Park West. This building will be joined by Vornado’s 220 Central Park South, also slated to be the next 15 Central Park West of Manhattan. I personally think Central Park South is the ultimate international buyers dream location….unlike Central Park West, its exposures north onto the park are incredibly dramatic with an East and West perspective that cannot be achieved on Fifth Avenue or Central Park West: it has the central location that buildings such as Olympic, Trump, Bloomberg and Muesum Towers have, but with direct park frontage AND its nestled in the middle capturing the best of East and West. The volume of these new “UBER-TOWERS” is somewhat daunting, but out of the new mix including One57, 432 Park, the Nouvel Tower, Extell’s next Tower, Steinway Tower, etc, these park-fronting buildings are certain to be winners.