NYC Luxury Condo Up For Grabs for Chinese Buyers First

He is known as the man who sold New York's most expensive apartment, developer Gary Barnett, is now selling his largest Manhattan condo project at prices lower than his Billionaire's Row that towers to Asian buyers first.

Sales of more than 800 condominium units at Lower East Side property by Barnett 's Extell Development Co. will start overseas, including China, Singapore and Malaysia. One Manhattan Square, the 80-storey tower, apartments won't be for sale until early next year in the US. The units will be sold at $1 million to $3 million which price range is in short supply in Manhattan.

"We think that's a reasonable place to be," Barnett said to Bloomberg about the One Manhattan Square pricing. "There are a tremendous amount of people who would like to own something in New York City but are priced out because everybody's building super-luxury."

New York is usually viewed as the luxury real estate haven by lavish buyers and wealthy men. In fact, it was Barnett who kindled the high-end home development in the city with the construction of the 1004-foot skyscraper, One57. Although fresh from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc. which caused the real estate downturn, the building reached $1 billion in sales just after six months.

"There's a tremendous hunger to purchase in New York for investment or for living or for safety or for a pied-a-terre. It's hard to find something which is a good value and that more people can afford," Barnett said.

However, the demand for lower priced homes is increasing especially for Asians who are looking for a place to live in the city. The marketing and sale of the One Manhattan units are outsourced to Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. for international market. Exhibitions are expected to happen next month in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

One Manhattan is located at 252 South St., a mile away from New York's Chinatown. It will have 50,000 square feet indoor amenities and 40,000 square feet outside space for landscaped garden and tea pavilion. The tower will reach completion by 2018.