Long-time developer’s pad gets price chopped

The floorplan for Shulsky’s unit in 812 Fifth Avenue (click image for larger version)

Rena Shulsky, the real estate magnate and environmental activist, has put her 812 Fifth Avenue penthouse duplex back on the market, with a new broker and a freshly chopped price.

Time Equities’ Javier Lattanzio now has the listing, and has priced it at $9.9 million. The three-bedroom duplex co-op unit was previously on the market with Ariel Tirosh and Peter Schwartz from Prudential Douglas Elliman, who listed it at $11.75 million last year, then dropped the price to $10.75 million this January before taking it off the market in early April.

Shulsky is the CEO of longtime New York City commercial developer Shire Realty and co-founder of the non-profit organization Green Seal. She originally purchased the three-bedroom apartment in 2007 for $9.23 million, according to city documents. The eight-room spread, with both city and park views, occupies the top two floors of the building and features a wraparound terrace.

Then Shulsky’s plans changed: in July of 2008, she spent $3.5 million to buy the 20th floor apartment next to the apartment at 200 Central Park South where she was residing. The seller of that unit was the developer of the building, Bernard Spitzer, the father of former governor Eliot Spitzer.

Shortly after that deal closed, Shulsky put her 812 Fifth Avenue penthouse on the market. She decided to stay at 200 Central Park South, and “doesn’t need this one anymore,” Lattanzio said.

Originally, the 812 Fifth apartment was priced at around $16 million, Tirosh said, adding that he was the third broker to attempt to sell the unit. His contract with Shulsky expired after the home was on the market for about a year, he said.

The Shulsky family has long been active in New York City real estate. The family previously owned the landmarked office building 5 Beekman Street, which was purchased by Joseph Chetrit and Bonjour Capital in 2008.

In addition to heading up the family real estate firm, Rena Shulsky has been an environmental activist for decades. In 1989, she co-founded Green Seal, a non-profit group that bestows environmentally based seals of approval on consumer goods. She also founded Green Audit, which helps companies assess their environmental performance.

Shulsky never moved in to 812 Fifth Avenue, but renovated the apartment’s kitchen and bathrooms, Lattanzio said.

Pricing the apartment under $10 million is key to helping it move in the current market, he said.

“Psychologically it does make a big difference,” he said. “People in this market are looking for a deal.”

There is at least on offer on the table, he said, and several “serious” prospective buyers, but would not elaborate.