A new, 2,292-square-foot unit hitting the market at the Park Imperial building on 56th Street is asking $8.3 million, more than double what its owner, Los Angeles real estate finance executive David Lasaee, paid for it in 2005. The reason for the markup, according to a source with knowledge of the listing, is the rarity of high-end, park-adjacent properties on the market today.

Unit 69A, purchased for $4.1 by the Arca Advisors exec, was recently renovated and designed by social fixture, interior-design guru and wife of money manager Boykin Curry, Celerie Kemble.

“The renovation is partly influencing the price,” the source said, “but there’s also nothing left on the market. If you have an $8 million buyer who wants a view of the park, there’s nothing to show them.”
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Fugitive software tycoon Jacob Alexander has sold three units at the Park Imperial on the corner of 56th Street and Broadway for a combined $35.2 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The sale was made to satisfy a settlement agreement that ordered Alexander to hand over millions, following a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that found he backdated stocks for his company, Comverse. [more]

An Asian financier calling himself “J. Lo” is reportedly looking to buy up luxe apartments in Manhattan’s premier buildings with haste. Lo, who is currently renting a $100,000-per-month condo at West 56th Street’s Park Imperial, counting neighbors like Daniel Craig, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Deepak Chopra, also recently signed a contract at the Park Laurel on West 63rd Street. He is reported to have paid nearly $28 million for the 7,758-square-foot spot that belonged to Israeli philanthropist Ephraim Gildor. Lo hasn’t made an offer yet on the $31 million penthouse he visited at Trump Park Avenue, but he did bid almost $40 million on Broadcast.com founder Todd Wagner’s apartment at the Time Warner Center, which, unfortunately for Lo, isn’t actually for sale. Wagner bought the 4,800-square-foot penthouse, once famously rented by Jay-Z, from real estate investor Michael Hirtenstein in 2007. Observers have noticed Lo’s black Cadillac Escalades idling outside his current rental, where he’s had shopping bags from Bergdorf Goodman delivered to his door. [Post, 1st item]

FBI fugitive Jacob Alexander, a former Converse Technology CEO who is allegedly on the run in Namibia, has just rented out his condo at the Park Imperial, at 230 West 56th Street, for $100,000 per month. Meanwhile, authorities plan to seize both the Park Imperial condo and another one Alexander owns at 301 West 57th Street. The renter is the head of an Asia-based hedge fund. Alexander is worth at least $250 million and was charged in 2006 with backdating stock options. Other Park Imperial residents include actor Daniel Craig. [more]

Daniel Craig and the Park Imperial at 230 West 56th Street

James Bond actor Daniel Craig is moving into a three-bedroom rental apartment at
the Park Imperial at 230 West 56th Street, the New York Post reported. He
will pay $38,000 for the apartment, which NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon
previously rented for $26,000 per month before moving to 15 Central
Park West. Other high-profile Park Imperial residents include Sean “P.
Diddy” Combs and Deepak Chopra. Craig will be starring in “A Steady
Rain” on Broadway with Hugh Jackman. [more]