By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A new $1.3 billion skyscraper will soon go up on West 57th Street, usurping the nearby Trump World Tower as the city's tallest residential building, the New York Times reported.
The proposed 1,005 foot tall apartment building/hotel will begin construction in the next three weeks and be completed in 2013, according to its developer, Gary Barnett, who speculated that it would be the "nicest project ever built in New York," the Times said.
A stone's throw from Carnegie Hall, with panoramic views of Central Park and designs by French architect Christian de Portzamparc, it's certainly got a shot.
Still, doubts remain about whether the market will catch up with Barnett's ambition.
"[It's] pretty gutsy," Jonathan J. Miller, president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel, said of the new tower, to be called Carnegie 57, according to the Times. “I think things will be better than they are now, but I don’t know how much better. I don’t think we’re in recovery mode.”
The Manhattan housing market improved slightly during the first quarter of 2010, but remained significantly worse than first quarter 2009.
Whatever the future holds, the Carnegie 57, which is, the Times noted, backed by financiers from Abu Dhabi, is a sure sign of hopefulness among developers.
As one real estate broker, Robert A. Knakal, told the paper: “There’s a palpable optimism in the market right now.”
