Brown Harris Stevens

PH2C is arguably the best apartment in this fantastic full-service condo building. Twenty9th Park Madison was named the "Best High-Rise in New York" by America's Property Awards the year it was constructed in 2008.

From the architect's plan, PH2C was always the best layout in the building. The balance between the public and private areas of the home is excellent, and the rooms are perfectly proportioned in all three dimensions. This is very important as the apartment has 13-foot ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows, and if the proportions are incorrect, the whole place would feel uncomfortable.

After living in the "best high-rise in New York," the owners found the home needed some strategic upgrades that could only be conceived by actual users. Because work was required anyway, some quality improvements were made to the finishes in the kitchen and bathrooms. In doing so, they improved the livability of what was already considered the best apartment in the best building.

What they ended up with is close to perfect. From the moment you walk in, you are gob-smacked by the views, with the buildings layering higher each couple of blocks until 42nd Street. From the comfort of your sofa, it will feel like you can touch the last 100 years of New York, with both the Empire State Building and One Vanderbilt right there.

As soon as you focus on the inside, you will see why I bragged about the layout. The open-concept living/dining room is 28 x 23, which is positively large and feels even grander with those 13-foot ceilings. However, to ensure the place retains intimacy, the living and dining areas are cleverly separated by an oversized column that houses some hidden but crucial cabinetry for formal dinnerware and books.

Right behind the generous formal dining area is the very generous open kitchen. The beautiful white marble is the most visible part of this home's extensive upgrades, and the elegant cabinetry is another. Every part of this kitchen has been upgraded, and it is exceedingly practical, with sufficient room for a whole gaggle of chefs to work together. The appliances are the usual high-end suspects; Sub-Zero fridge, Viking oven and cooktops, Bosch dishwashers, Marvel wine coolers, and Zephyr range hoods.

The South side of this penthouse is for the private areas with two very generous bedrooms and two stunningly renovated bathrooms. At 15 x 13, the second bedroom is large enough to be a primary in any other home, but here it isn't because its bathroom, clad in marble, is not en-suite. However, it does offer views as far as Jersey City.

The primary bedroom, like the living room, has attention-grabbing vistas looking southeast towards the East River and Brooklyn. (I swear I saw a plane land at JFK the other day.) The room itself is very generous but not pompous. Together with a beautiful, marble-clad 5-fixture windowed bathroom and a comfortable walk-in closet, this is a wonderful primary suite.

It is situated between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, Twenty9th Park Madison towers above its neighbors. The double-height, cubed-glass entrance establishes a captivating allure. Cascading sunlight and moonlight stream through, illuminating the dramatic interior of the 34-story, 142-unit boutique condominium. The building amenities check every box on a discerning buyer's wish list: Parking in the building, deeded storage, a full gym, and a roof deck that is truly enviable, with panoramic views and four separate barbeques and dining areas.