Deep-pocketed buyers rush to buy ahead of the looming pied-a-terre tax as West Village tower hits $1 billion in contracts

Is the West Side Highway the new Billionaires’ Row?A downtown skyscraper has quietly become New York City’s newest billion-dollar building — and it isn’t done yet.The duplex penthouse at 80 Clarkson, a luxury condominium rising at the edge of the West Village along the Hudson River, has gone into contract for $80 million, according to people familiar with the deal. At $11,236 per square foot, the deal would set a new record for the most expensive residence by price-per-square-foot in downtown Manhattan history once it closes.The contract comes just weeks before New York City’s new pied-à-terre tax takes effect on July 1 — and buyers with deep pockets don’t seem to be flinching.Christine Miller Martin and Kyle Blackmon of Compass represented the elite buyer but declined to comment on who it is.The four-bedroom, six-bathroom penthouse spans 7,120 square feet of interior space, with an additional 921 square feet of private outdoor terraces and loggias. At roughly 400 feet above street level, it is the highest condominium ever built in the West Village.The $80 million contract is the most expensive signed in Downtown Manhattan this year, and the second-largest condominium contract throughout New York City in 2026, as a unit at 1122 Madison claimed the top spot after going into contract in February.The deal is far from the only headline the building has generated.

A separate residence at 80 Clarkson is pending for $129 million, making it the most expensive sale in downtown history by total price once it officially closes.A third unit asking $75 million is also under contract.

And rumor has it the development team is firm on pricing “They’re incredibly tough on pricing and not budging,” Clayton Orrigo of Compass, who has sold more than $250 million worth of residences at 80 Clarkson but was not involved in this particular deal, told the Wall Street Journal.Taken together, the building developed by Zeckendorf Development and Atlas Capital Group, w...