The eastern portion of the tower contains a cantilever above the Art Students League of New York's building at 215 West 57th Street, intended to maximize views of nearby Central Park.

The residential portion of the tower contains 179 condominiums, spanning on average 5,000 sq ft (460 m2), with interiors designed by Rottet Studio.

[17][15] 1780 Broadway was one of the most visible buildings on Automobile Row because of the site's elevated topography,[15] and was leased to various automotive firms during the early 20th century.

[20] In addition, the Hard Rock Cafe and Broadway Dance Center occupied the structure at 221 West 57th Street before that building was purchased by Extell, also in 2006.

[1][29][30] The use of development rights transferred from other structures nearby, as well as about 300 feet (91 m) of mechanical spaces, enabled Central Park Tower to reach a taller height than would have ordinarily been allowed.

[39] Without the cantilever, Vornado Realty Trust's under-construction 220 Central Park South would have blocked the lowest 950 feet (290 m) of the tower.

The curtain wall is subdivided vertically by stainless steel "fins" that are arranged similarly to pinstripes; they resemble mullions but do not project from the facade.

[90] The terrace contains a 60-by-16-foot (18.3 by 4.9 m) outdoor pool[91] surrounded by pergolas and trellises; a central lawn with limestone and granite paths; and two gardens.

[91] On floor 16 are an indoor pool, exercise rooms, spa, gym, basketball court, and children's playroom,[23][81][88] as well as men's and women's lockers.

[46] Other design features include halo reveals around each column; railings that wrap around the corners; and a terracotta wall near the elevators that resembles the wavy facade.

[12] That September, Extell served one of 221 West 57th Street's occupants, the Broadway Dance Center, a notice of default for operating without the required public assembly permit.

[12] In July 2013, Extell paid $25 million for the lot at 232 West 58th Street, adding another 20,750 square feet (1,928 m2) of development rights, and thus completing the site.

[56] After Extell and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pushed back, the LPC dropped its proposal to designate 225 West 57th Street as a landmark.

However, the proposed designation of 225 West 57th Street received both significant support and opposition: the American Institute of Architects, New York State Assembly member Richard N. Gottfried, and the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois spoke in favor of that building's designation while City Council members Melinda Katz, Daniel Garodnick, and Jessica Lappin spoke against landmark status.

An appeals court upheld the decision in March 2016, as reversing the air-rights sale would have resulted in an undue hardship that would cost Extell more than $200 million.

[135][98][136] Extell founder Gary Barnett denied these rumors, saying he would keep the height at 1,775 feet "out of respect" to One World Trade Center.

[148] Around the same time, Extell also brought in the Shanghai Municipal Investment Group (SMI) as an additional equity investor for roughly $300 million.

At the same time, Nordstrom invested another $25 million, with a put option that allowed the company to force Extell to repurchase the store space if it was not ready by December 2018.

Extell was scheduled to repay $180 million in December 2018 but investors were worried that the company could not raise the cash, as the declining luxury market had made the unit pricing unrealistic.

[161] At the end of May 2017, Extell received approval to begin sales at Central Park Tower,[162] with a total targeted $4.02 billion sellout for the project's 179 condominiums.

[163] A sales office was opened inside the tower, with decorations of New York City attractions and voice-overs advertising the building as "a shimmering beacon of class, optimism and chutzpah".

The company also unveiled new buyers' incentives, offering to waive between three and five years of common charges and pay 50 percent of broker's commissions.

[3] On July 12, 2017, a 4,300-pound (2,000 kg) crate containing window panes fell from floor 16 after a ramp connecting the construction hoist to the building collapsed.

[189] On May 26, 2018, a glass panel at the ground floor toppled onto 67-year-old security guard Harry Ramnauth,[190] who later died due to blunt force trauma of the neck and torso.

[197] Lendlease was also fined $25,000 by the New York City Office of Administration Trials and Hearings for failing to adequately safeguard the construction site.

[200] In January 2021, the project received a $380 million mezzanine loan from Sail Harbor Capital and Baupost Group, with a 14 percent interest rate and maturity at the end of 2021.

[85][204] Concurrent with the slowdown in the luxury residential market, several units at Central Park Tower sold well below their asking prices in late 2021.

"[63] Architectural writer Carter Horsley described the curved facade of the base as "very alluring" and the cantilever as a "significant broadening for the bulk of the building's prodigious height".

[52] Upon the tower's completion, Architectural Digest wrote: "But for such a grandiose statement, the design team decided on a minimal aesthetic for the exterior—it's a kind of modern classic, inspired by luxury.

[223] Michael Kimmelman, in The New York Times, said that the cantilever over the Art Students League building was akin to "a giant with one foot raised, poised to squash a poodle".