The last puzzle piece?

Even the most ardent and dedicated enthusiast occasionally requires a change of pace, a diversion from the tedium that can set in when one spends day after day doing the same amazing thing.

Take, for example, Hillel Nahmad. The scion of the ridiculously rich art-dealing dynasty devotes most of his time buying Renoirs and Modiglianis to stockpile in the family's storage facility beneath the Geneva airport. But he also mixes it up by collecting other expensive things, like apartments on the 51st floor of the Trump Tower.

Now, with his sixth purchase at 721 Fifth Avenue, we believe Mr. Nahmad may finally have the full set. That is, the entire 51st floor.

Maybe he's after the whole thing.

The Trump Tower patron paid $8 million for apartment 51A/B, city records show. And while Mr. Nahmad has taken his time with his purchases in the past, this most recent buy followed right on the heels of No. 51C, which sold for $2.8 million in November.

He spent the last decade buying up 51D, J, K and H. Which, though a few letters of the alphabet are absent, appears to be the entirety of lines available on the floor (ah, convoluted apartment numbering systems). Mr. Nahmad did not return a phone call to his Trump Tower apartment, but the purchases scream floor-through.

As for apartment 51A/B, Keller Williams listing broker Rana Williams said that the two apartments were combined years ago. The seller, Renee Baley, was trying for $9.95 million for the 3,000-square-foot unit, although it was clear from listing photos that it had been some time since the place was renovated, a consideration we doubt matters to Mr. Nahmad.

"The apartment spans the whole southern face of the building. It is a beautiful apartment," said Ms. Williams. She declined to comment on Mr. Nahmad's plans, or the possibilities of a floor-through renovation, but did confirm that there had originally been seven units on the 51st floor. We tallied Mr. Nahmad's purchases: seven units.

Would a floor-through in the Trump Tower be unusual? "It would be very uncommon," she said.

Altogether, he's spent $21.7 million, but could surely fetch far, far more after a renovation. By our calculations, the apartments have 10,059 square feet between them. Although combining so many units can't be an easy, or inexpensive task.

But Mr. Nahmad wouldn't be the first rich guy to dream about uniting a large number of disparate apartments into one magnificent mega-apartment. To want to play real estate developer not on a plot of land, but within the confines of a luxury building. And where Howard Ronson failed, Mr. Nahmad may succeed.

kvelsey@observer.com

Why not buy it all?

Apparently Hillel Nahmad, scion of the fabulously wealthy and famously controversial Nahmad art clan, needed some more space to hang all those Picassos he owns. Mr. Nahmad has closed on his fifth apartment at Trump Tower.

Hey, you can never have too many Matisses or too many apartments in the Trump Tower! Mr. Nahmad paid $2.8 million for unit 51C, according to city records. The apartment, which was not listed publicly, offers just over 1,000 square-feet for Mr. Nahmad to expand his now rather-large space on the 51st floor.

Does he have his eye on the entire 51st floor? We wouldn't be surprised. Mr. Nahmad has been buying apartments there for the past 17 years and the family is nothing if not methodical when it comes to collecting what they want. Enjoying it is, unfortunately, another matter. The family keeps 90 percent of the collection in storage in Switzerland.

Maybe it's time to grace the ever-increasing wall space of 721 Fifth Avenue with a few famous paintings?

Mr. Nahmad bought the condo from Beech Road LLC, who paid just $950,000 for it back in 2003. But buyers who covet things that are not technically for sale often find themselves paying a premium.

It's been a few years since the art world honcho bought something new—before this, he snapped up a $5 million apartment in 2010, followed by a $2.62 million one a few months later. Why not buy in pairs in you're going after the whole floor?

kvelsey@observer.com

If it's not broken...

Is 1 Central Park West the sexiest residential tower alive? Not in our opinion, but former Esquire publisher Alan Greenberg, who's now the president of Avenues: the World School, a for-profit school set to open this fall in Chelsea, certainly seems to think so.

Mr. Greenberg and his wife Joy have traded their 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo on the 25 floor of Trump International Hotel and Tower for a 3-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath on the 30th floor.

The Greenbergs bought their new place (which is nearly twice the size as the old one) for $10.6 million, according to city records, less than a month after the apartment was listed for $11 million with Sotheby's broker Roger Erikson. (News of the planned swap was first reported by The Real Deal earlier this month, but not the details of the sale).

We're guessing that the Greenbergs may have had their eye on the larger unit for quite some time. And while such activities could put the couple in danger of breaking a commandment—thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house—we hardly think the neighbors minded. The selling price was a smidgen less than the ask, but it was still a pretty penny more than the $6.4 million the sellers (the Beverly Hills-based Aloha Lane Investors—whoever they are) paid for the property back in 2004.

And for the Greenbergs, at least, the building has proven to be something of a cash cow. The couple's current apartment, which they put on the market a day before closing on the larger space, looks like it may yield more than double the $2.25 million they spent when they bought it in 2000. Last listed for $5.75 million, it's already in contract. Things move fast at Trump Tower.

When Mr. Greenberg listed the couple's apartment this March, he told The Real Deal that he and his wife were looking for more space so that their recently-born grandson could visit frequently.

Besides space, the new place also offers lacquered walls, "dramatic lighting" and a "stunning powder room," according to the listing. Also, while it's hardly a change of scenery, we'd also guess five stories up may offer slightly better views.

kvelsey@observer.com

91 Central Park West. (Photo from StreetEasy)

Recent notable deals in Manhattan real estate:

Gallery owner Jill Gerstenblatt and husband Darren have purchased a new apartment at 201 East 25th Street in Kips Bay. Though the 1,550-square-foot roost was originally listed by Douglas Elliman for $1.5 million last year, according to StreetEasy, the couple paid just $1.27 million. Brokers Matthew Gulker and Vanessa Kitchen note that the apartment, which was combined from two smaller units, is “a Mint Home featuring a Double Wide Living Room plus a Gracious Dining Room with Sunny South Facing Open City Views that Go for Miles...” We’re slightly confused by the excessive capitalization in the listing, but regardless, congrats to the new homeowners.

Is Brooklyn that bad? Physical therapist Alex Klurfeld and wife Diana are ditching their Brooklyn digs for Trump Tower. According to the deed, the couple currently live a Brighton Beach apartment complex. The Klurfelds purchased two units at 721 Fifth Avenue, the epitome of Manhattan grandiosity, paying $6.35 million dollars for the 2,293 square feet of space. According to StreetEasy, the Brooklynites got a sweet deal: the place was listed by Trump back in 2009 for $7.299 million, but the price was chopped 4 percent, to $6.995 million in January.

French real estate mogul Leon Bressler and wife Sylvie have purchased an apartment at 91 Central Park West for $7.525 million. This isn’t the couple’s only New York property, however. City records show that in March of this year the Bresslers bought an 850-square-foot condo at 101 West 79th Street for $2.95 million. Although the most recent purchase is just 11 blocks away, it is a much more substantial property, with three bedrooms and three full bathrooms. Interestingly enough, the apartment was purchased from a Linda C. Pedicini, a teacher at Spence. Corcoran agent Brian Rice, who worked on the deal with Douglas Albert, assured us that the Bresslers were "very, very nice people. Absolutely gracious.”

eknutsen@observer.com

Rohinton (Ron) Mobed, a former VP at Schlumberger, and wife Suzanne Mobed have sold their gem of an apartment at the Diamond House. The “mint condition condominium is an oasis of calm in a prime area of the Upper East Side,” according to Stribling brokers Megan Duryea Scott and Amanda Cannon Fredericks. The Liow Family Trust purchased the four-bedroom, four-bath pad for $3.44 million.

Trump Tower, 721 Fifth Ave.

Mexican entrepreneur and real estate developer Elias Sacal Cababie has sold his Trump Tower condo for $5.1 million. The 1,509-square-foot home was purchased by Yonghui Investment Limited. The two-bedroom, two-bath property was originally listed by the Trump Corporation in March of 2009 for $4.995 million, de-listed and then re-listed (again by Trump) with a price hike to $5.5 million. Rana Hunter Williams was the broker on the deal.

eknutsen@observer.com

 -- Uptown, on the same day, Credit Suisse director Jordan Drachman landed a more demure, Gothic Revival Style brownstone at 160 West 88th Street. Parquet floors and a few fireplaces remain intact, but the listing, by Corcoran's Michael Arnold, boasts of "4,477 square feet of living space to make your own." The house sold for $3.775 million, with the proceeds going to one Wigmore Realty 1 LLC.

 -- As Journal ace Josh Barbanel first reported yesterday, and city records now confirm, Andrew Lloyd Weber has finally sold his Trump Tower duplex for $16.5 million. It has been on the market for more than a decade, but like the lead in one of Mr. Weber's musicals, the composer just kept belting it out. As Mr. Barbanel notes, "The selling price worked out to more than $3,100 a square foot-a hefty figure, but below the asking prices for the apartment the last two times it was listed. It also was quite a bit below the prices achieved in recent months at 15 Central Park West, a few blocks away." The 5,300-square-foot home was first purchased in 1987 for $5.5 million.

mchaban [at] observer.com / @mc_nyo

According to city records, a high-floor apartment at Trump Tower that came on the market with broker Mark Shemel for $13.5 million belongs to the Mexican telecom mogul. Listing photographs show a place with a lot of yellow ("off white," Mr. Shemel argued); a lot of glass ("I don’t know if you know Lalique? It’s a very well-known glass-designing brand"); plus a lot of pillows (10 on one couch, more on a bed that's under a mirrored ceiling).

And Mr. Shemel pointed out that there are padded walls: "It’s all about that cozy feel," he said, "all about that nice, comfortable, warm feeling."

But most important of all, of course, is a Jacuzzi that juts into the master bedroom. Sadly, there are no photographs of the thing, but a wonderful floor plan shows the tub to be about the size of the apartment's maid's room. "A lot of interest in the design itself usually comes from South Americans, Mexicans, Russians, Eastern Europeans. They like the gold finishes, the large Jacuzzi in the bedroom, the quilted walls, the carpets, they like that feeling," the broker offered.

He said that the place was decorated in the late '90s by François Zuretti, the yachting designer. Mr. Peralta is known for having one of the biggest yachts on the globe, which "took two years in dreaming, three years in building," he once told Vanity Fair. His Swarovski-crystal-coated Princess Mariana reportedly has "six decks, six bars, 1,600 movies, 16,000 pre-programmed songs, three chefs, a cellar with 2,000 bottles of wine and 1,000 bottles of tequila, a laundry, a wall that opens to turn a bedroom into a terrace" and fingerprint-identification pads on staterooms.

The Trump Tower listing says the views stretch to the Catskill Mountains. Is that true? "Just the shading of the mountains," Mr. Shemel explained. "It’s not snow-capped peaks or anything. It's the hills that start up early in the region." He paused for a moment and added: "I call them hills because I’m used to West Coast skiing, so."

The listings Web site Streeteasy shows that the apartment came on this month, but Mr. Shemel said he's been showing the place since June. Either way, the $13.5 million price is high: There's a two-unit, 3,065-square-foot apartment on the same floor that's asking $7.5 million, or only $2,446 per square foot (less than half of Mr. Peralta's $5,378).

Frontline and The Times have reported extensively on Mr. Peralta's murky ties to Mexican ex-president Carlos Salinas' family. Why is he selling? "From what I understand, he's not there for more than five or six days a year," his broker said. "There were times when he was there more often, and now he's not."

mabelson@observer.com

1. "Would you like to turn on the air conditioning while driving back from the country - with a simple phone call?" Yes.

2. "Or program your six-head steam shower to start at the desired temperature - just moments after your alarm goes off in the morning?" Maybe not; steam is weird.

3. "How about motorized refrigerator shelves to easily accommodate your groceries?" Yes, definitely. It's amazing that when Sotheby's listed the duplex earlier this year for $15 million, there was no mention of motorized refrigerator shelves.

4. "THX-certified soundproof sheetrock in every room for an utterly silent environment?" Later on in the listing, we learn that the apartment's soundproofing system is new and "green-friendly" and based on "sound-deadening drywall."

5. "Intelligent design and skillful detailing executed by artisans and engineers who have been meticulously sourced." Intelligent design has a scary ring to it, but "well-sourced artisans" sounds great.

6. "Silent insulated ducts." This listing is better than the Tom Waits song Step Right Up.

7. "Floor-to-ceiling windows running along the west and north walls." Of course.

8. "Invisible speakers are concealed behind the walls and ceilings." The duplex is obviously suited for a super villain, though a super villain might be upset to know that the price per square foot is an incredibly high $4,543.

9. "And the audio is controlled through customizable color touch screens and include iPod docking stations throughout the apartment." That alone makes up for the duplex's $4,800 monthly maintenance fee and $3,100 monthly tax.

10. "Also off the foyer is a large laundry room--actually uncommon in Trump Tower--and a coat closet." Having a laundry room off your foyer doesn't sound inherently great, but it's always good to have what your neighbors don't.

11. "Enter the kitchen which includes twin Miele dishwashers, a Thermador range, Thermador refrigerator, Miele cappuccino maker, convection microwave and steam oven." Steam is the theme!

12. "An informal dining space with a 72" Perlick wine cooler, barstools and a banquet is positioned beside the kitchen." It would be nice if the wine cooler had motorized shelves, too, but at least it's 72 inches.

13. "Ascending the stair custom-designed in wrought iron and marble, the 49th floor section of the duplex is a palatial master suite." The entire top level of the duplex, in other words, is one bedroom.

14. "Additional features: heated floors, heated towel bars, waterproof speakers and a large Neptune airjet bathtub in her bathroom." There's no airjet bathtub in the male's master bathroom, but that's O.K.

15. "A kitchenette with dishwasher and refrigerator sits at the top of the stairs." Thank God.

16. "The master bedroom includes three large closets, blackout shades, a rear-projection television concealed behind a painting, while bed is positioned perfectly so that Central Park views are the first thing you see in the morning." Who would be awesome enough to hide a TV behind a painting? According to city records, the duplex belongs to Raymond Cubero and Kathleen Comerford. One hopes their next apartment will have heated towel bars, too.

mabelson@observer.com

Much has been said about the party Gucci and Madonna will throw on February 6 at the United Nations. But relatively little is known about the fête’s raison d’être—the opening of the fashion brand’s largest store ever, its flagship to end all flagships.

Today, The Daily Transom was given some information about Gucci’s forthcoming Fifth Avenue digs. And from the looks of things, when the store opens its doors in February, it will realize the dreams of all manner of folk—from society ladies looking to prolong the buzz of a boozy lunch at Michael’s to T-shirted tourists ogling.

The 46,000-square-foot space is, after all, going up in Trump Tower, which proudly sits at the corner of Vortex and Vortex.

According to Gucci’s attending press materials, the flagship—whose design was conceived by the company’s creative director, Frida Giannini, and executed by well-known architect James Carpenter—will encompass “three spacious, warm, light-infused floors”—one will be designated for ladies and gents, respectively.

The concept? Admittedly, if fittingly, rather gauche. “The gleaming glass exterior...cuts a striking view from the street,” the label’s literature reads.

On the inside, things get even more precious, or, as the company claims, symbolic: “For example, smoked mirror and smoked bronze glass alternate to allow for an elongated perspective; door handles are comprised of alternating gold and glass vertical shapes; the floor is covered in white marble that is sliced with a wide black marble strip that runs underfoot, up the wall and on the ceiling overhead; a fused bronze glass with a striped cross section and a cracked lacquer are used on shelving and display cases, while rails, with a square cross section, have been created in warm polished gold.”

They really have thought of everything, it seems. Because those vulnerable few moments between trying on different frocks can linger on in a painstaking fashion, guests will be provided with their own robes “monogrammed with the original Guccio Gucci script signature” in the changing rooms.