The much-awaited triplex penthouse at 212 Fifth Avenue has finally hit the market this week, with an asking price of $68.5 million, according to the developers.
Bucking the trend of smaller, more affordable units by most luxury developers in the wake of a softening market, Madison Equities and Thor Equities, developers behind 212 Fifth Avenue, changed their plans over the summer and expanded the triplex penthouse by almost 3,000 square feet with sole access to the roof terrace, instead of sharing the space with another duplex in the building.
"We want to make it one spectacular, singular, trophy penthouse," Robert Gladstone, head of Madison Equities, told Mansion Global in an earlier interview.
The pricing of the residence and whether it will be able to sell, are closely watched by real estate insiders.
Mr. Gladstone said the current asking price reflects Manhattan’s luxury penthouse market, taking into consideration that exterior spaces are normally priced at half of interior footage.
Upon completion, the triplex will span the top three floors (22nd to 24th) of the 1912 building designed by architects Schwartz & Gross, boasting 10,000-square-foot interior space and an extra 5,700-square-foot exterior space.
Town New Development is handling sales and marketing at the 48-residence building, whose amenities include a fitness center, a golf simulator, a screening room and a catering kitchen.
The triplex, dubbed "The Crown" by the developers, is due to be completed by the end of this year, Mr. Gladstone said. Write to Fang Block at fang.block@dowjones.com