In June, The Observer warned that the Italian businessman Luigi Zunino had been desperately trying to come up with the money to close on his $45 million–or–so deal for the Plaza‘s gargantuan third-floor sprawl. A year earlier, there had been reports that Mr. Zunino was looking to sell his place for $100 million, but that was wishful thinking: Before he could sell, he would have to own it outright.
That hasn’t happened.
A new listing on Stribling‘s Web site suggests that the Plaza’s developer, El-Ad, is trying to find a new buyer for the dictatorial, 14-room, 9,350-square-foot condo. The price is $39 million—which on the one hand is ambitious for these drab times, but on the other is less than what Mr. Zunino was reportedly going to pay.
The listing’s L-shaped floor plan is a thing to behold: If you start at the cluster of four bedrooms (and the family room) at one end of the apartment, you have to walk through the 55-foot-long gallery (and past the 44.5-foot-long salon and study) to get to the library. Then you’ll find the living room, the reception area, the dining room and kitchen, and then, finally, the master bedroom suite, which includes a double dressing room.
The apartment’s ceilings are around 13 feet high: “Also known as ‘The State Suite’ at the Plaza, this enormous apartment is comprised of the former State Rooms, which were originally used for lavish private entertaining,” says the listing. “Enjoy the scale and proportion of a grand urban mansion, yet all contained on a single floor.”
Neither Stribling’s Alexa Lambert nor Mr. Zunino’s broker immediately returned messages.
mabelson@observer.com
