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Stratospheric Sales

By Matt Chaban 5/18/12 4:38pm

Stratospheric Sales

Are these $90 million views? (Extell)

Billionaires, Act Fast! Turns Out One57 Is 50 Percent Sold Out

If only Gary “The Best” Barnett were editing The Times, the Gray Lady wouldn’t have buried the lede.

“I think the story got a little carried away,” Mr. Barnett told The Observer by phone this afternoon. He was referring to a report in today’s Times that Extell, Mr. Barnett’s development company, had sold the penthouse at his 1,005-foot One57 luxury tower for somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 million to $100 million.

We asked how—and why—the sale had been kept under wraps for a few of months now, even as the price was raised from $98 million to $115 million in the face of the sale of Sandy Weill’s $88 million spread at 15 Central Park West. “We wanted to tie the two together,” he said, “the penthouse announcement and the fact that we’re 50 percent sold. We thought 50 percent would be the big news, but shows what we know.”

As though he doesn’t know exactly what he is doing.

Still, Mr. Barnett has a point: The Times totally ignored (downplayed) the 50-percent-sold news, not mentioning it only once. (See Correction below.) Read More

By Kim Velsey 5/15/12 6:17pm

Stratospheric Sales

4 Photos

Wynn Wins at the Ritz

Steve Wynn Gambles on Ritz-Carlton Penthouse, Wins for $70 M.

It looks like casino king Steve Wynn‘s unlucky streak with New York real estate has finally come to an end. After selling his pad at the Plaza a few years back, Mr. Wynn has reportedly scooped up a penthouse at another famed New York hotel, the Ritz-Carlton.

According to the Post, Mr. Wynn has put in a winning $70 million bid for Millenium Partners’ founding partner Christopher M. Jeffries’ $77.5 million pad. Read More

By Kim Velsey 4/18/12 1:34pm

Stratospheric Sales

How will the buyer grapple with the challenges of arranging furniture in this massive living room?

Sale of 740 Park Avenue Apartment Poised To Break Co-op Record?

Courtney Sale Ross may not be getting the full $60 million ask for her deluxe duplex apartment at 740 Park Avenue, but the sale will still set a record at $52 million, the highest price ever paid for a co-op.

While last week brought rumors that a buyer with deep-pockets had fallen in love with the sprawling apartment, The Journal reports that the feeling is mutual, and the famously picky co-op board has given the nod of approval, culminating in the signing of a $52 million contract. Read More

By Kim Velsey 4/13/12 10:51am

Stratospheric Sales

Not your typical New York apartment

Whispers of a Buyer for Courtney Sale Ross’ ‘Quiet’ $60 M. Duplex at 740 Park

It’s not only the bright, shiny and new buildings like 15 Central Park West and One57 that are topping the $50 million mark these days. Rumor has it that the massive 740 Park Avenue home of Courtney Sale Ross has found a buyer willing to pay the $60 million asking price

Gadabout Michael Gross, the author of the consummate book on the consummate building, reports that he’s heard from a reliable source that the unit, a deluxe duplex, has gone into contract for the full asking price. Read More

By Michael Ewing 11:38am

Stratospheric Sales

Who wouldn't want to live here? (About.com)

Live Like an Insurance Baron: AIG Building 70 Pine Becoming City’s Tallest Residences

The lovely Art Deco skyscraper at 70 Pine Street has had as rough a few years as its former owner. The Financial District tower was acquired by AIG in 1976, then losses in the economic crisis led AIG to its infmaous $183 billion dollar bailout. To recoup some of that money, the company had to sell properties and assets to pay off the debt. Asian investors stormed the building and bought that and 72 Wall Street, another AIG building, for $150 million.

There was plans to convert 70 Pine into condominiums, but the partners behind the project had a rough few years themselves and ended up in the court duking it out. Another firm, Sciame Development, was brought in to determine whether it should be developed as hotel or a condominium, but paths shifted and Metro Loft Management and the Eastbridge Group bought the building last December for $205 million dollars.

Now, they are finally going ahead with luxury rental plans that will make this the highest residences in the city, according to The Times. Read More

By Matt Chaban 3/21/12 2:00pm

Stratospheric Sales

scatterallonechart1200

Just What Does an $88 M. Sale Look Like?

While the Rybolovlev(a)s are fighting it out in court over the purchase of Sandy Weill’s $88 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West, Jonathan Miller, our favorite real estate appraiser, provides us a startling visualization of just how rarefied this sale was. He has plotted every sale between January 2003 and January 2012 in Manhattan. It looks like a funky piece of op-art, but it also amazes how far this sale is even beyond the other record setter’s like the $53 million sale of the Harkness Mansion. Mr. Miller calls this his “Tallest Chart in History of Manhattan Real Estate.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 3/09/12 12:47pm

Stratospheric Sales

10 Photos

Puttin' on the Ritz

The Weill Deal! Millenium’s Christopher Jeffries Wants $77.5 M. for His Central Park West Duplex

The fallout—or is it fall-up?—from Sandy Weill’s $88 million penthouse sale at 15 Central Park West continues to reverberate through the upper echelons of Manhattan real estate. Gary Barnett decided to up the price of his penthouse at One57 into the nine-figure realm, sellers at 15 Central Park West are going gaga with their own homes and now an almost-as-rich-as-Weill’s apartment has come on the market on the south side of the park. Read More