Well, no one can say he’s not good at his job!
When real estate investor Charles Berman and his wife Melanie purchased their apartment at 15 Central Park West, the economy was in free fall. It was October 2008, a month after Lehman Brothers had collapsed, but that did not stop them from shelling out $6.8 million for a three-bedroom, 3.5-bath condo on the third floor.
That may seem like a lot, especially for such a low floor, but this is the best building ever, meaning the sky is the limit. The couple from New Canaan put the place back on the market this spring, with an appropriate price tag of $20.5 million. Perhaps the economic jitters of the past year forced them to readjust, with a prompt chop to $16.75 million. Even with turmoil in Washington and Athens—or perhaps because of it—New York real estate cannot be beat, and this building especially. City records show that the Bermans did even better than anticipated with a sale coming through for $17 million flat.
Although the buyer purchased anonymously through an LLC, the deed lists a Ft. Wayne, Ind., address that belongs to Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, a co-founder of the popular Vera Bradley bag company. The creator of those paisley, quilted prints can now join all the West Side ladies toting around her totes.
If she would rather avoid the unwashed masses of the West Side, Mr. Baekgaard can lounge in the 2,909-square-foot confines of her comfortable new home. According to a listing from Brown Harris Steven’s broker Kyle Blackmon, the home includes a large foyer, a dining room with views of the Park, a separate master suite and a master bath featuring heated floors. Sure, the home “is one of the most coveted condominiums in all of New York City,” Mr. Blackmon declares.
eknutsen@obsever.com
