Landmark buildings turning into luxury residential towers

There's a hot new trend in New York real estate. Landmarked buildings are becoming luxury residential towers and they're pulling in sky high prices

David Kaufman, Alexa Home and Travel Editor at the New York Post took us on a tour of two of them.

We start in 100 Barclay on West Street next to One World Trade Center, otherwise known as the Verizon Building.

The amazing and historic 1920s Art Deco Tower, designed by renowned architect Ralph Walker, was originally built for the New York Telephone Company, and is becoming a combination of commercial space and condos.

Kaufman says the developers chose to engage with the space in a clever way.

Because the building is landmarked it would be difficult to completely overhaul the space, so instead they've kept the Art Deco lobby as a functional entryway and welcome space for the phone company, while converting half of the lobby into a luxurious, experience base for the apartments.

The mix of Art Deco and ultra modern is bringing in some big money.

The model penthouse is nearly 4,000 square feet with 4 bedrooms and a $12 million dollar price tag.

Eventually, the building will be home to over 150 apartments between 1 and 5 bedrooms, starting at $2.5million and going above $12 million.

It will also boast 40,000 square feet of amenities, including two pools.

Further uptown, in Hell's Kitchen, another Art Deco telephone building, designed by Ralph Walker is also making a name for itself.

Stella Tower, named for Walker's wife, is at the very end stages of becoming a luxury 51 unit boutique condominium building, and because Stella Tower isn't landmarked, there's more room to modernize.

Once again, the combination of old and new is raising the ceiling on prices.　

The apartments here range from 1 to 3 bedrooms and cost $1.8million to $14million.

Kaufman says some of them are selling for roughly $2,700 a square foot, a record for Hell's Kitchen.

There are four penthouses here. Two are currently on the market.

The one we visited, is about 3,700 square feet with over 1,000 square feet of outdoor space spread over three terraces.

Those terraces have extraordinary views and a glimpse of the building's beautiful Art Deco Crown, which lights up at night.

Thanks to local zoning, those sightlines will never go away.

Stella Tower is located in a part of Hell's Kitchen that's only been zoned for new buildings up to 6 floors.

So all of the incredible views from the Hudson River to Midtown to Downtown, will stay here for a long time.