The dual limestone towers of 15 Central Park West, which was completed in 2007, have set the standard in New York’s trophy market. The building, designed to evoke the Art Deco luxury of the early 1900s, weathered Manhattan’s two-year property rout in style. Some original buyers sold their units in 2012 and saw the value of their investments double on average, according to an analysis of 12 deals by StreetEasy.com.

The building’s residents include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Sting and Third Point LLC founder Daniel Loeb. The tower set a record for the largest completed residential deal in Manhattan last year, when former Citigroup Inc. Chairman Sanford Weill sold his apartment for $88 million.

Carl Dranoff of Dranoff Properties said the similarities between his Philadelphia tower and the New York landmark are striking. Rittenhouse Square, which is in the middle of Philadelphia’s urban grid, is anchored by a tree-lined park that boasts artworks, diagonal walkways and a reflecting pool.

Mimic Manhattan

“They’re on the park, we’re on the park,” Dranoff said. “They’re Robert Stern-built, we’re Robert Stern-built. They have a beautiful entrance off a side street. We have a beautiful entrance off a side street.”

The apartments at 10 Rittenhouse Square have sold briskly, mostly in cash deals. All but six of the 143 units have been purchased, and 60 percent of the closed agreements were paid for in cash. In January, Eric Foss, CEO of food services company Aramark Holdings Corp., paid $2.7 million for a 3,200-square- foot three-bedroom apartment, according to property and building records. Three years earlier, an entity named JEMA 10/33 purchased three units totaling 12,000 square feet for a $14 million, according to public records.

At 1706 Rittenhouse, a $144 million project, each of the 31 units takes up the entire floor. The top-floor, a 7,725- square-foot penthouse, sold for $12.5 million in June 2010. It was the highest price ever paid for a single residential property in Philadelphia, according to developer Tom Scannapieco. The buyer was Theodore Aronson, founder of Philadelphia quantitative investment firm AJO Partners, according to property records.

Record Price

Dranoff and iStar are now attempting to set another sales record, marketing the 9,165-square-foot Rittenhouse Club, a three-story residence attached to 10 Rittenhouse Square, for $15 million.

“We’re positioning it as one of the most exclusive and unique homes in Philadelphia,” iStar’s Tucker said. “You can have your own exclusive mansion residence.”