Luxe Market

With Stern on board, it was clear that Zeckendorf was targeting a market for luxe tradition. I didn’t expect an aesthetic breakthrough, but I hoped the lush budget — and the site at the end of an extraordinary line of soaring towers — would inspire Stern to an authoritative reimagining of Manhattan’s prewar glory.

The best thing about 15 Central Park West is the way he arranges the building bulk. One chunky 19-story structure, with some wedding-cake setbacks, is dubbed “the house.” It faces Central Park, emulating the Mayflower Hotel that long occupied the park frontage. A slim, 35-story rectangular tower rises behind, separated from the house by a 65-foot court that runs the full width of the block. A five-story base extends west of the tower to pick up the angled frontage of Broadway.

Big as they are, neither of these structures looms overweeningly. The space between the two buildings ventilates the block (literally and visually), allowing an enriching play of light, shadow and views between the two.