Richard Pesin, an executive vice president with Forest City Ratner Companies, the group behind the controversial Atlantic Yards development project, has been identified as the purchaser of a $4.1 million penthouse apartment at the Prime, a condo at 333 West 14th Street. The Real Deal reported the sale of the 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse with three balconies and a private roof terrace Dec. 18, but did not know the identity of the buyer. The development, which up until recently had difficulty moving units, is being represented by R.P. Miller. R.P. Miller did not immediately respond to The Real Deal’s requests for comment. [more]

After years of sluggish — or virtually non-existent — sales at Saxa’s the Prime condominium at 333 West 14th Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, a late-summer uptick in sales has left the 10-story, nine-unit condo with only one unit left on the market. Why the sudden surge? “I think price has a lot to do with it,” said Michael Katz, RP Miller’s on-site sales associate. His group kicked off a new sales effort at the development a year ago (note: correction appended). Almost immediately after taking the helm, RP Miller slashed asking figures, and invited carolers to sing outside an open house at the project. Two weeks ago, RP Miller & Associates closed on its eighth unit: a 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse with three balconies and a private roof terrace that sold for $4.1 million, Katz said. Back when sales launched in September 2006, the asking price was $9.5 million. It was reduced to $7.5 million in January this year, and then finally to $5.9 million in July. TRD

The unit to see the biggest price cut today is a two-bedroom,
two-and-a-half-bath co-op at 50 Gramercy Park North, apartment 2B,
according to Streeteasy.com. The price of the apartment was cut by
$600,000 to $4.4 million. The home, which has a 637-square-foot
terrace and hotel services through the Gramercy Park Hotel, is listed
for 27 percent less than its asking price of $5.9 million when it first
hit the market in December 2008. The Corcoran Group’s Chris Kann and
Robert Browne have the listing. Over the weekend, a 5,400-square-foot penthouse at the Prime, a
building that has suffered significant price drops, saw a dramatic 38
percent price cut, according to its developer Daren Hornig. The price
of the three-bedroom, three-bath triplex at 333 West 14th Street
was
cut by $3.6 million to $5.9 million. TRD [more]

The home to see the biggest price cut today is a three-bedroom,
four-bath co-op at 1040 Fifth Avenue, according to Streeteasy.com. The
price of the prewar home, apartment 56B, was cut by $1 million, and the apartment is
now on the market for $10.2 million. This is the apartment’s second
price cut, and it is now listed for 21 percent less than its asking
price of $12.9 million when it first went on the market in February.
The Corcoran Group’s Immy Mullin and Ruth Samuels have the listing.
Another home to see a significant price cut today, according to a press
release, is the penthouse at the Prime, at 333 West 14th Street. The
penthouse’s price was lowered by 21 percent, and is now on the market
for $5.9 million, down from $7.5 million. TRD
[more]