Kate Glicksberg
Want to move on up, to the East Side — to a deluxe apartment in the sky? Now you can, and at the top-most point of the tallest residential building on Manhattan’s East Side, no less.
Penthouse 80, a floor-through duplex atop Sutton Tower — a brand new condominium located at 430 E. 58th St. — has listed for a sky-high $65 million, The Post has learned. Beyond its mere altitude, this unit is also the largest and most expensive condo listed this year in the vicinity.
The soaring aerie spans the entire top two levels, the 80th and 81st floors, starting at around 800 feet above the street. It has nearly 9,200 square feet of interior living space and an additional 166-square-foot south-facing loggia — a semi-enclosed and protected outdoor perch.
From various points on both levels, there are 360-degree views of the city — and far beyond.
“You step out and see to the New York Harbor and all the wonderful iconic landmarks in between,” Elizabeth Unger, senior sales director of Sutton Tower, whose sales and marketing are being handled by Corcoran Sunshine, told The Post.
“I can see all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Hudson,” she added. “I can see the mountains of New Jersey; and I can see the city skyline from the Empire State Building to the Freedom Tower.”
At 850 feet above street level, Sutton Tower’s upper floors also stand far above those of the existing residential towers close by. The immediate buildings to the south, east and west reach up to 220 feet. The exception is the Sovereign, a post-war cooperative at 425 E. 58th St., which hits 450 feet. That was the tallest tower in the immediate area before Sutton Tower.
Plans for Sutton Tower’s lofty height caused some consternation in the neighborhood; residents did not want a massive edifice blighting their views. The developers eventually wrangled a change in zoning, which allowed the building to soar as planned.
“No one has developed here in 45 years — at least no one had done a tower,” Van Nguyen, a partner at JVP Development, the co-developer of Sutton Tower alongside Gamma Real Estate, told The Post. “This is a historic neighborhood,” he added of Sutton Place, which was blighted by tenements until the 1920s, when wealthy socialites Anne Harriman Vanderbilt and Anne Morgan built lavish homes there.
“We wanted to respect that and do it at a level of quality,” Nguyen continued. “The opportunity justified the risk if we lost the zoning fight. Now we have protected views, which is nice for buyers to know. I doubt zoning will change for another 50 years, if at all.”
The 850-foot-tall glass- and carved Bavarian limestone-clad Sutton Tower includes a total of 120 one- to five-bedroom homes, with a maximum of three apartments per floor. Pricing starts at $1.89 million for a one-bedroom.
Sutton Tower is the first skyscraper in the world from renowned designer Thomas Juul-Hansen, whose resume includes private and business commissions for top chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and design elements for developments such as One57 on Billionaires’ Row.
“There’s a timelessness to his design. He’s the designer people hire when they move into a condo to give it a special touch, or to renovate their homes,” said Nguyen of Juul-Hansen, who hails from Denmark. “Here, he’s already brought his touch to the design — it’s done. These are turnkey and of the highest quality.”
Back in the penthouse — with ceilings spanning 15 feet and window walls adding endless natural light by day, plus twinkling cityscapes by night — it’s hard not to feel on top of the world.
The five-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom home has a 54-foot-long great room overlooking the East River, which morphs from an evocative entertainment space to a cozier family room, the latter completed by a gas fireplace. The adjacent wine room can store up to 700 bottles and has a wet bar.
The kitchen stands between the great room and the formal dining room. When it comes to equipment, the kitchen is professional-level with two dishwashers and three ovens, plus a butler’s pantry and custom cabinets.
The corner primary bedroom suite has two dressing areas and two separate bathrooms with steam showers — one with a soaking tub, too.
Elsewhere in the building, there are five floors of Sutton Club amenity suites, which include a swimming pool, a fitness center, a boxing studio and a screening room.
One important amenity is also right on the doorstep. Outside of Sutton Tower is a walkable, traditional New York neighborhood, near a number of mom-and-pop shops.
“The building is at this crossroads of the Upper East Side and Midtown — and it’s a rarity here in this location,” added Ungar. “It gives the lifestyle of a luxury building, but in this enclave one block from the waterfront. It’s the first of its kind and the last of its kind.”