A British property developer and his wife wanted luxury real estate candy and found it on Billionaires’ Row.
Christian Candy and his wife Emily Crompton-Candy purchased a penthouse at JDS Development’s 111 West 57th Street for approximately $45 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unit initially listed in 2020 for $66 million.
The acquisition comes only one week after the couple listed their Upper East Side townhouse for $70 million, which they purchased for $48 million in 2022. The outlet didn’t specify the address of that property, but the listing and broker details match 8 East 62nd Street, which Somerset Partners’ Keith Rubenstein previously owned.
Christian and his brother Nick are known for developing London’s ultraluxury One Hyde Park condominiums. Christian and his wife own properties worldwide, previously residing in the Bahamas.
Their Billionaires’ Row penthouse spans approximately 7,250 square feet, offering panoramic views from Central Park to the Statue of Liberty. The unit features a media room, 1,240-square-foot loggia and a great room with soaring 14-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows.
The purchase comes amid ongoing sales challenges at 111 West 57th Street. Since construction began in 2014, the building has faced litigation, developer infighting and delays. The property is on its third sales team since launching in 2018; Sotheby’s International’s Nikki Field recently replaced the Corcoran Group to sell the remaining 27 units, priced between $12.5 million and $56 million.
Under Corcoran’s marketing, which began in February 2022 after the ousting of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, the building achieved $100 million in sales in early 2023. Progress towards a sellout has been slow, however, and only about half of the building’s 60 units sold at an average of $4,700 per square foot when Field’s team took charge.
Momentum has since built at the property, developed by JDS Development and Property Markets Group. Field told the Journal the building did more than $285 million between closings and contracts, hitting a 75 percent sales threshold.
The Candys were represented by Adam Modlin of Modlin Group in both their penthouse purchase and townhouse listing.
— Holden Walter-Warner