From left: Kyle Blackmon of Brown Harris Stevens, the exterior of 15 Central Park West and the interior of unit

MacFarlane Partners’ Charles Berman isn’t the only CEO offloading his 15 Central Park West pad as the threat of a double-dip recession looms large. Corbett Price, chairman and CEO of Kurron Shares of America, a New York-based management, consulting and strategic advisory company specializing in the health care industry, has just listed his third-floor unit, on the same floor as Berman’s, for $8.395 million, almost double what he paid for it in 2008.

As The Real Deal previously reported, three years ago Price shelled out $4.9 million for the 1,987-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath apartment at the Robert A.M. Stern- designed two-tower building.

The unit is listed with Kyle Blackmon, a broker at Brown Harris Stevens who also helped Berman find a buyer. Blackmon declined to comment. [more]

From left: Charles Berman, 15 Central Park West exterior and Kyle Blackmon of Brown Harris Stevens and interior of unit 3A

A three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom condominium unit at 15 Central Park West has been pulled from the market after going into contract with an unidentified buyer, data from Streeteasy.com shows. The 2,909-square foot apartment is located on the third floor on the southeast corner of the uber-exclusive condo, which has become the residential building of choice for hotshot celebrities like actor Denzel Washington and musician Sting, and finance bigwigs such as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup Chairman Emeritus Sanford Weill.
The condo was put on the market by another financial honcho — Charles Berman, a managing principal and vice chairman with MacFarlane Partners, a real estate investment management firm in New Canaan, Conn. Berman and his wife Melanie purchased the low-floor unit, number 3A, from developer Zeckendorf Development Company in the fall of 2008 for just $6.7 million, according to public records. [more]

From the September issue: In its eight years of publication, The Real Deal has covered the real estate industry in a city that’s been transformed by a massive building boom, was crippled by the subsequent bust, and is now in the midst of a tentative recovery.
The compendium of stories we’ve written runs the gamut from the record-setting building and apartment purchases during the boom, to the toppling of mega-developers during the bust, to new entrepreneurs trying to get into the real estate game during today’s fragile recovery. This month, for the anniversary of our 100th issue, we bring you some of the most compelling stories we’ve tracked in these pages, many of which have unfolded and evolved over time, much as the magazine itself has. And watch the video below to see The Real Deal Publisher Amir Korangy talk about the special process for creating the unique 100th issue cover.
[more]

The pool at 15 Central Park West

From the July issue: One of the selling points emphasized by brokers at the Edge condominium in Williamsburg is the major weekend scene at the pool, with lots of sunbathing, picnicking and socializing. At 20 Pine’s pool in the Financial District, neighbors regularly practice yoga and host parties.

But there will be no pool parties at 15 Central Park West this summer. Even as the weather heats up, the atmosphere at the über-exclusive condominium remains subdued, residents say, and the pool area is often deserted.

The Robert A.M. Stern-designed building has become the condominium of choice for hotshot celebrities like Denzel Washington and Sting, and finance bigwigs such as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup Chairman Emeritus Sanford Weill. [more]

William Zeckendorf and 927 Fifth Avenue

William Lie Zeckendorf could probably teach his legion of real estate brokers a thing or two about doing a deal. According to the New York Observer, the co-owner of Terra Holdings, parent company of Halstead Property and Brown Harris Stevens, flipped the top half of a 927 Fifth Avenue duplex for as much as $5 million profit in a matter of six months.

Sources told the Observer that the five-bedroom spread sold for “well over” its $31.5 million asking price, and may have even brought in more than $34 million. Zeckendorf paid $29.1 million for the portion of Bruce Wasserstein’s old duplex in a one-day auction in December. BHS’ John Burger brokered the deal but wasn’t available for comment. [more]

The Central Park West wine bar-that-wasn’t has a future after all, but the high-powered neighbors who helped shoot it down earlier this year will be happy to know that the venue will be relocated to a grittier street corner nine blocks away. According to DNAinfo, Greg Hunt, who met with bitter opposition from residents when he originally proposed opening his bar at 25 Central Park West, also known as the Century, received Community Board 7′s backing last night for a liquor license and sidewalk café at the new location, the long-vacant ground floor of the rundown 240 Columbus Avenue, near 71st Street. Hunt’s new proposal is similar to the old one: he said it will be a “grown-up café and cocktail lounge” where “we can go and not be surrounded by 21-year-olds.” [more]

Another day, another stunning 15 Central Park West resale attempt.

On the 37th floor of the Zeckendorf brothers’ limestone masterpiece, the owners of a 2,761-square-foot, three-bedroom spread are angling for a roughly $13 million profit on their original purchase price.

The $23.95 million asking price for the unit, which belongs to William Lawrence, founder of Meridian Capital Partners, and his wife, Gloria, and which popped up on the resale market yesterday, places it squarely in the building’s top tier, though it is hardly setting records.

But nonetheless, a 124 percent markup (the Lawrences’ paid just under $10.7 million for the apartment in 2008) is nothing to sneeze at, and is one of the most ambitious resale attempts in the past year at one of the city’s most celebrated condominiums. [more]

Following the release of first-quarter residential real estate reports across the country, experts from some of the top markets appeared on CNBC (see video above) to discuss the findings. In New York, Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Dolly Lenz took to the screen, noting that the Manhattan market is bucking the trend seen in the rest of the country, with prices at the high end “holding quite firm.” As evidence, Lenz referenced a recent story from The Real Deal, which revealed that the owner of a 5,600-square-foot 15 Central Park West spread had pulled his $55 million listing from the market in order to renovate, rather than dropping the price or accepting a lowball offer.

A floorplan for the $55 million combination spread, Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, who used to rent the lesser of the two units, and the exterior of 15 Central Park West

Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has officially moved out of his blockbuster 15 Central Park West rental, but those hoping to snag his place are out of luck — at least until next year.

Leroy Schecter, the steel mogul who owns both A-Rod’s former unit and the one next door, and who has been trying to sell them for a combined $55 million since last March, pulled the listing from the market this week. Emily Beare, the Core broker in charge of marketing the 35th-floor condominiums on Schecter’s behalf, told The Real Deal that the owner is planning to physically combine the units in an attempt to generate higher offers. [more]

There’s a new record in town. Russian composer Igor Krutoy has closed on the 6,000-square-foot Plaza Hotel condominium he chose last month after an epic search for Manhattan trophy apartments, and according to the Post, he paid $48 million for the 12th-floor pad. That’s the priciest single condo ever sold in New York — and the musician isn’t even getting the whole floor in the deal. As the Wall Street Journal reported when the contract was signed, Krutoy
and his wife, Olga, had been making offers on all the big-ticket condos
in the city — including the $55 million, two-unit combo at 15 Central
Park West and equally stunning listings at the Time Warner Center —
before settling on the Plaza spread, which has views of Central Park but
wasn’t officially on the market. [more]