A developer in New York City has discovered the art in structures and real estate. Roy Stillman, the president of Stillman Development International, has been behind the renovation of The Schumacher, Metropolitan, and Centurion condominiums, all of which are aesthetically artistic. Mansion Global reported that the Times Square Theater is his latest project.
Stillman is also known to have a passion for the arts. At 56, he's a 'passionate' art collector and has been noted to commission artists for his projects. He pays them to create pieces for the buildings, especially the woodwork in some apartments, and he has been known to create them with specifics in mind.
The real estate magnate believes that luxury and art is not connected in the sense of the word, it's as far as two vague similar-meaning words can be. Luxury, he stated, was more the materials and the way the building is created, more than the status. He cited the Centurion as an excellent example, which featured building materials flown in all the way from Burgundy.
Art in such buildings is in high demand among the elite who can afford it. A good example would be billionaire hedge fund manager and trophy home collector, Kenneth Griffin. According to NY Times, the added prestige of owning a property that's basically a piece of art doesn't come cheap. It comes with a lot of money involved most of the time, to the tune of $100 million.
His payment was enough to cover about 6,254 Manhattanites' rent for a whole year at a value of $3,179 in December alone. It's also $100 million more than the latest recorded sale in the neighborhood, a penthouse which sold for $100.5 million in 2014.
It shows how Manhattan has a lot of ready luxury real estate in recent times, and how those aren't luxury apartments in the sense. Expensive prices aside, the skill of one such as Roy Stillman is instrumental in making luxury apartments live up to its hype.
He says that the trend currently points towards buildings which aren't the same as many others in the same neighborhood. Those homes that aren't plenty are the ones most sought after, although the sense of community still remains. In a sense, the art resides within people and how the community is dependent on each other.
