Thompson Hotel will offer one-bed apartments on Billionaire’s Row starting at $1.3 million

A Manhattan hotel located on one of the priciest stretches of land in the world – nicknamed ‘Billionaire’s Row’ – is now offering apartments that are priced far lower than their neighbors, but still in the millions. 

The ONE11 Residences at the Thompson Hotel went on sale on Thursday offering apartments as ‘low’ as $1.3 million for a one-bedroom, but as high as $14 million for larger four-bedroom penthouses.  

Joint projects between hotels and condo developers usually set a limit of 6 months for apartment residents, so the hotel can rent out the rooms, but the ONE11 residences will have no limit. 

Thompson Hotel, once known as Le Parker Meridien, aims to bring a downtown feel to the swankier midtown area with its new apartments. The development is headed by GFI Development, the same team that created the Ace, Beekman and NoMad hotels.

The ONE11 Residences at the Thompson Hotel went on sale on Thursday offering apartments as ‘low’ as $1.3 million for a one-bedroom, but as high as $14 million for larger four-bedroom penthouses

Managing director of GFI Development Stan Spiegelman said the location of the apartments is key: ‘It’s all in the middle of the city — near Central Park, near Billionaires’ Row, near Fifth Avenue.’

Spiegelman said it’s hard to find a ‘downtown vibe’ in the area and the apartments aim to bring that vibe to Billionaire’s row. 

Developers bought the building for $420 million in early 2019, and said at the time they planned to put another $100 million in through renovations.

Residents of the apartments will have access to the amenities offered by the Thompson Hotel, located on 56th street near Sixth Avenue, including a wellness center, gym and restaurants. 

The cheapest one-bedroom apartment is $1.3 million and approximately 554 square feet, while the glitzier one-bedrooms located on the penthouse levels are 1,100 square feet and have a starting price of $5 million.

Joint projects between hotels and condo developers usually set a limit of 6 months for apartment residents, so the hotel can rent out the rooms, but the ONE11 residences have no limit

Thompson Hotel, once known as Le Parker Meridien, aims to bring a downtown feel to the swankier midtown area with its new apartments

Depending on which direction the windows face, residents will have either a view of Central Park to the north or a city view

For the two-bedroom condos, one sized at 800 square feet costs $2.15 million while a bigger one sized at 1,100 square feet goes for $4.95 million. 

Depending on which direction the windows face, residents will have either a view of Central Park to the north or a city view. 

Spiegelman says these prices are impossible to beat on Billionaires’ Row, especially with the hotel’s amenities included.

‘These aren’t price points that are available anywhere near Billionaires’ Row,’ he said.

The units are ‘essentially new construction,’ according to Spiegelman, meaning the apartments look vastly different from how they did before development, with new windows and central air-conditioning.  

The developer also said the pricing is manageable for the company because the units were built on top of the Thompson Hotel, which will continue to operate its nearly 600 rooms. 

Residents of the apartments will have access to the amenities offered by the Thompson Hotel, located on 56th street near Sixth Avenue, including a wellness center, gym and restaurants

Spiegelman anticipates the buyers of the apartments to be a mix of full-time residents and investors. 

Karen Mansour, an executive with Douglas Elliman Development Marketing which will oversee the apartment sales at ONE11, said developers had to reflect on how the pandemic shifted what buyers want from their living spaces.

‘There’s a pent-up demand to have fun and see people and be out and go to restaurants,’ said Mansour. 

The condos will share the hotel’s entrance and lobby, meaning residents will be ‘surprised every night when they come home,’ she said, calling the experience ‘very chic.’

In contrast to the ‘discount’ prices available atop at ONE11, nearby Central Park Tower listed a penthouse on Thursday for $250 million. 

The penthouse, which boasts more than 17,500 square feet of indoor space and 1,400 of outdoor space, will span the 129th floor to the 131st floor of the skyscraper to become the ‘highest residence in the world,’ according to brokerage Serhant. 

If the apartment sells at the $250 million asking price, it would be the most expensive home ever sold in the country.  

Russians are estimated to own over $1 billion in Manhattan real estate, many of which are on Billionaire’s Row (pictured)

Russia’s wealthiest tried to quietly sell their Manhattan properties, it has been claimed, amid fears that they could face sanctions

Kuzmichev’s luxurious home was listed for $41 million on the Upper East Side

Alexei Kuzmichev, 59, an owner of Alfa-Bank – Russia’s largest private bank, which has been slapped by US sanctions — listed his $41 million Manhattan quadruplex.

The area became notorious earlier this year during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as wealthy Russians scrambled to sell their apartments in Billionaire’s Row out of fear of sanctions.   

Alexei Kuzmichev, 59, an owner of Alfa-Bank – Russia’s largest private bank, which has been slapped by US sanctions — listed his $41 million Manhattan quadruplex.  

Another that looked to sell is Valery Kogan, the billionaire owner of Moscow’s Domodedevo Airport, and his wife Olga.

Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill that aimed to expose ‘secretive patterns of real estate investment in New York City among international elites through anonymous LLCs and the use of New York LLCs by wealthy Russian nationals in New York state to purchase luxury homes.’ 

The bill would require LLCs to disclose their owners to the New York Department of State and would create a public database of which LLCs share common ownership.