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, with The Baupost Group, has now seen more than $1 billion worth of apartments go under contract since sales quietly launched in 2025.

The broader luxury market appears to be absorbing the incoming tax with little resistance. The number of contracts signed on Manhattan homes priced at $4 million or more has risen in recent weeks, according to data from Olshan Realty.

Over the past 14 weeks, nearly a quarter of all contracts signed were for listings asking $10 million or more.

Downtown has seen a surge of trophy transactions in recent months. A West Village townhouse sold for $70 million earlier this year, and the penthouse at 70 Vestry closed for $57 million. The penthouse at 140 Jane entered contract last listed at $87.5 million.

Designed by CookFox Architects with interiors by the late Thierry Despont, whose previous credits include 220 Central Park South, 80 Clarkson will eventually hold 112 residences across two limestone towers reaching approximately 420 and 490 feet, respectively.

The building offers more than 50,000 square feet of amenities, including an 82-foot lap pool, a winter garden with palm trees, a sports court, a golf simulator and private dining.

Residences are currently listed from $7 million to $80 million.