By Stephen Jacob Smith 5/02 3:56pm

Manhattan Transfers

For $23 million, you'll no longer have to gaze longingly at the limestone loggia perched atop at 10 Gracie Square.

$23 M. to Live Next to Gloria Vanderbilt’s Old Penthouse

Not often do penthouses at Manhattan’s “Good Buildings” (as per Tom Wolfe, according to whom there are only 42) come on the market, but today is one of those rare days: the south penthouse at 10 Gracie Square was just listed for $23 million.

The white-glove building sits in the rarefied hinterlands of the far East Side, overlooking Carl Schurz Park, and once had a yacht mooring onto the East River, sadly disfigured by the FDR (which is decked over beneath the ritziest buildings—a coincidence, we’re sure). Moreover, the penthouse occupant gets an up-close view of the building’s rooftop fixture, which is rumored to be, along with that on top of 1040 Fifth Avenue, the inspiration for 15 Central Park West’s crown. Read More

By Kim Velsey 10/11/12 1:58pm

Manhattan Transfers

7 Photos

770 Park Avenue

Fradulent Financier Hassan Nemazee’s Park Avenue Palace Now Asking $19.5 M.

There’s one thing you can say for Hassan Nemazee, the Iranian-American investment banker who plead guilty to a $292 million bank fraud: he certainly knew how to spend it.

Nemazee certainly spared no expense when it came to his 15-room terraced duplex apartment on the 14th and 15th floors of 770 Park Avenue. Twenty-eight windows span three exposures, and the co-op has a 29-foot living room overlooking Park Avenue and a 20-foot living room adjacent (both with wood burning fireplaces and herringbone wood floors, of course). When the U.S. Marshals listed it for $28 million last March, it was the highest-priced forfeited asset that they’d ever put up for sale. Read More

By Kim Velsey 9/04/12 8:00am

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Oaktree Capital's Howard Marks bought his Ritz Carlton pad for $18.8 million in 2007. Now he's asking $50 million. The excuse? A stunning renovation.

Pursuing Perfection, One Massive Renovation At A Time

The paint had scarcely dried at 15 Central Park West before the building’s first residents set to knocking down the walls and stripping out the ultra-luxury condo’s ultra-luxurious finishes. Not that the finishes were lacking—like the layouts, they were widely considered to be exquisite—a stunning marriage of old-fashioned grandeur and modern sensibilities. In fact, ex-Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill thought that architect Robert A.M. Stern had done such a fine job designing the building that he hired him to do a massive renovation on his brand new, $43.7 million penthouse.

In the upper echelons of Manhattan real estate, the pursuit of perfection is as common as Sub-Zero refrigerators and private elevator landings. Haunted by dreams of what could be, owners are forever tearing magnificent properties apart in the hopes of transforming them into even more magnificent properties.

Such dreams often pay off handsomely. To wit, Mr. Weill’s freshly-renovated penthouse was so striking that it fetched $88 million shortly after completion. But of course, it would surprise no one, particularly not Nicholas S.G. Stern, son of A.M. and the owner of boutique construction concern Stern Projects LLC., if the Russian tycoon who bought the celebrated spread started his own renovation any day now. Read More

By Kim Velsey 7/10/12 3:00pm

Manhattan Transfers

7 Photos

A Sale at the Beresford

Hedge Funder Lisa Gustavson Trades Up for a $5 M. Beresford Spread

Unsatisfied with investing money all day as a managing director of hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co., Lisa Gustavson apparently decided to move some money in her spare time—int0 Manhattan real estate.

Ms. Gustavson and husband Christopher Sales, who is also involved with the financial industry at Credit Suisse, must be doing well in their careers, as they’ve upgraded from a two-bedroom rental at 375 West End Avenue to a sprawling three-bedroom spread that they just bought at the Beresford for $5.2 million, according to city records. Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/01/12 2:09pm

Stratospheric Sales

9 Photos

Full-Floor on Fifth

Just As We Were Running Out, Another $50 M. Listing Hits the Market

Rejoice all ye house hunters looking in the $50 million and above range!

For a while, it seemed that all hope was lost, what with the disappearance of the Courtney Sale Ross mammoth at 740 Park, the Teddy Forstmann whopper at 2 East 70th Street and the $77.5 million Ritz-Carlton throne. But praise be, there’s a new $50 million co-op apartment on the market.

The owners of a floor-through apartment at the hoity-toity 944 Fifth Avenue (the staff members actually wear white gloves, reports The New York Times, who first wrote about the listing), have listed their six-bedroom apartment. The apartment is located on a high floor above the tree line. The listing doesn’t actually mention which high floor—how discreet!—but a little sleuthing reveals that the apartment is almost certainly on the eleventh floor. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 9/09/11 5:37pm

Super Brokers

John_Burger

What Recession! Brown Harris Steven's John Burger Sold $280 M. in Homes Last Year, Topping the U.S.

Who’s the best broker in the land? Brown Harris Stevens’ John Burger, according to the Wall Street Journal‘s annual list of the nation’s top real estate agents. The New York based broker is a heavy hitter in the industry, selling $279,841,487 in New York property last year. Figuring that 3% commission, Mr. Burger did well for himself last year, pocketing approximately $8,395,244 before Uncle Sam.

According to his personal website, Mr. Burger splits his time between his homes on the Upper East Side and in Watermill (naturally), and is fluent in Spanish and German. And English, we presume. Read More

By Chloe Malle 9/17/10 6:03pm

Mum and Pup’s 778 Park Maisonette Takes a Cut–Again!

“Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive,” saged conservative society scribe William F. Buckley Jr once said. True as that may be, something about the allure and glamour of Mr. Buckley’s former residence at 778 Park Avenue inspired idealistic expectations from real estate brokers and Mr. Buckley’s Obama-voting son, Christopher, Read More