Over the years, a number of rather interesting individuals have resided inside the limestone-clad walls of 515 Park Avenue.
The condo has been called home by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, music exec L.A. Reid and Broadway producer Harold Prince (who bought Reid’s unit for $16.5 million) in 2014.
The building is also where self-proclaimed Israeli spy and former arms dealer Ari Ben-Menashe chose to buy a $7 million corner unit in 2010.
Menashe, who penned the book Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network, which details his supposed involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal, put the 2,500-square-foot pad back on the market in 2012, asking $9.599 million. Over the years, he lowered the price to $8.995 million, then $8.65 million, taking the home on and off the market.
And now, it’s back, with a freshly cut, $8 million price tag! The home, which has an oversized entry gallery and herringbone floors, is currently configured as a 2-bedroom, with 3.5 baths, though the listing, from Brown Harris Stevens Broker Frans Preidel, clarifies that the home was originally a 3-bedroom.
The “prewar-inspired design” of the condo includes an eat-in kitchen with custom cabinetry, marble countertops and “premium-grade appliances,” as well as a formal dining and living rooms and a library.
Other than the bedroom reconfiguration, it doesn’t look like Menashe put too much of his individual touch on the place, at least from the listing photos, though considering he’s been trying to sell the place since 2012, and since last we heard, he maintains his primary residence in Montreal (which was severely damaged in an alleged firebombing in 2012), it seems likely that he’s not spending too much time in the city.
Or, perhaps Menashe, who currently runs an “international commodity exporting firm,” is looking for a stealthier pad, one that’s more of a hideout-type of lair. Perhaps he should look to Alan Wilzig’s security-heavy Tribeca townhome for inspiration.
