Branded Condos in NYC: What a Name Like Armani or Aman Is Worth

Updated Oct 21, 2026 · 5 min read

What Is a Branded Condo?

A branded condo is a building sold under the name of a fashion house, a hotel company or a luxury label, like the Giorgio Armani Residences or the Ritz-Carlton Residences. The developer doesn't usually belong to the brand. It pays to license the name, and sometimes hires the brand's hotel company to run the building or lets owners use the hotel next door. The offering plan, filed with the New York Attorney General, spells out exactly what the brand does and doesn't provide.

NYC's Branded Condos

• The Giorgio Armani Residences, 760 Madison Avenue: 10 homes above a ground-floor commercial unit. The plan says the developer may market the homes under the Armani name, "as the Sponsor has licensed the use of such name pursuant to the terms of a separate agreement" with Giorgio Armani S.p.A.
• Aman New York Residences, 730 Fifth Avenue: 22 homes in the Crown Building, above the Aman hotel, with access to its spa and pool. (See our Aman New York guide.)
• Ritz-Carlton Residences, NoMad, 1185 Broadway: 16 penthouses above a Ritz-Carlton hotel, managed under the brand.
• The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, 301 Park Avenue: 375 homes carved from the landmark hotel, with the hotel below them.
• Baccarat Hotel & Residences, 20 West 53rd Street, named for the French crystal maker.
• The Setai, 40 Broad Street, in the Financial District.
• Also in the Attorney General's records: the Four Seasons Private Residences at 30 Park Place and the Cipriani Residences at 55 Wall Street.

Do Branded Condos Sell for More?

The clearest test is the Ritz-Carlton in NoMad. Its homes closed at $3,540 a square foot, 65% above the median of the 59 new Manhattan condos within a mile that report a price per square foot. Only 2 of them sold for more. NoMad isn't a neighborhood where many buildings reach that price, so a good share of that gap is the name and the hotel services that come with it, though the homes are also penthouses.

The other branded buildings sold for far more per home than their neighbors, but they're also much bigger homes, so the gap isn't all brand:

Typical sponsor closing is the median first sale of each home recorded with the city. Nearby buildings are other new condos in the same borough within a mile, accepted since 2015, with at least 20 homes.

They've also sold well. The Aman and Armani buildings have closed 100% and 90% of their homes, against nearby medians of 82% and 88%, and the Ritz-Carlton all of them. The Waldorf Astoria, with 375 homes and closings that only began recently, has closed 20% so far.

Does a Brand Let the Developer Hold Its Price?

Not reliably. Across the 205 new Manhattan condos since 2015 where we can compare closings with the developer's original price list, the median building closed 6.6% below list. Here's how the branded buildings did:

• Giorgio Armani Residences: 8.1% below list, across 9 homes.
• Waldorf Astoria: 5.6% below list, across 64 homes.
• Ritz-Carlton NoMad: 7.6% below list, across 8 homes. Even with the highest price per square foot nearby, buyers negotiated well below the original asking prices.

A brand can set a higher price, but it doesn't stop buyers from negotiating. Price the brand the way you'd price any other feature: off closings, not the list. (For more on discounts, see 301 Park Avenue vs. nearby condos.)

What Does the Brand Cost the Owners?

Sometimes the owners pay for the name every year. Aman New York's first-year budget includes a brand license fee of $227,400 paid "for the use of the 'Aman' brand," about $10,340 a home a year, or $860 a month, on top of a $131,996 fee for the hotel's lobby, spa and pool. It's part of the common charges, and like any budget line it can change.

Other plans run the brand through a management agreement instead, so the cost sits inside the management or hotel services line. Either way, look in the budget, called Schedule B, for any line with "brand," "license" or the hotel's name. Here's how to read Schedule B.

The Catch: The Name Can Be Taken Away

The brand isn't permanent. These plans all say the license can end, and with it the name on the building.

• Baccarat: the plan says the name "is used only in connection with sales and marketing under a limited marketing agreement that will expire in five (5) years (or less)."
• Ritz-Carlton NoMad: the brand ends if the management agreement does, and the plan warns that "the market value of their Units may be decreased" by whatever share of that value comes from the name.
• Waldorf Astoria: the license "may be terminated or may expire without renewal," after which the homes are no longer a Waldorf Astoria branded project.
• The Setai: only the condo board holds the license, through a branding agreement that can be terminated.

The premium you pay for a name depends on an agreement between the developer, or later your condo board, and the brand. If the hotel changes hands or the board stops paying, the name can come off the door.

What to Check Before You Buy a Branded Condo

• What the brand actually does: is it just a name, or does the brand's company manage the building or provide services?
• How long it lasts and who can end it: the developer, the hotel or your board.
• What it costs: any brand, license or hotel services line in Schedule B, and whether owners vote on it.
• What happens if it ends: signs, services and the building's name.

You can read any of these plans on The Condo Book Project, or search "branded residences."

Related: How Does The Towers of 301 Park Avenue Compare to Nearby Condos? · How the 421-a Tax Exemption Works for NYC Condo Buyers