Designed by IM Pei, the architect behind Qatar's Museum of Islamic Art, and topped by a Dh143 million (US$38.9m) three-storey so-called "Mansion in the Sky", New York's latest block of uber-luxury flats to come to the market is aiming at the rich overseas investor market - especially those from the Arabian Gulf.
The developers, US-based Stillman Development International and Antonio Development, one of the largest property companies in Asia, are hoping that Centurion, their new block of 48 designer apartments located two blocks from Central Park on West 56th Street, will pull in a few wealthy Arab buyers.
Certainly the project has been prestigious - or lucrative - enough to tempt the 95-year-old Pritzker Prize winner IM Pei, also the designer of the pyramid at the Louvre, out of semi-retirement to take on the job with his son.
The marble-clad top floor penthouse, which comprises three apartments combined, stretches to a expansive 9,098 square feet which includes nine bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms, working out at US$4,287 (Dh15,747) per sq ft.
Sandi, IM Pei's son and collaborator on The Centurion, has put his visions to paper and created preliminary designs for the penthouse in a traditional, modern, defined-room and open-loft style. However, the developers say that whoever buys it is also welcome to work hand-in-hand with the world-renowned architect to create his own custom-couture home.
The price tag also comes with all the services and facilities one would expect from a multimillion-dollar condominium such as in-suite massage services, pet care and maid and butler services.
And what's more, if the three-storey apartment is bought by one purchaser, it would win one lucky broker a potential commission of Dh8.4m.
Thomas Guss, the president of the Centurion's marketing and sales agent New York Residence, says "the Centurion will set a new standard in privileged living".
"It will be home - or the home away from home - for some of Manhattan's most sophisticated and indulged in international and domestic residents and visitors."
