Trump Tower

Art dealer Hillel Nahmad has purchased his fifth apartment at the Trump Tower, located at 721 Fifth Avenue, the New York Observer reported. Nahmad nabbed unit 51C, which was not publicly listed, for $2.8 million.

Nahmad has been buying units on the 51st floor of the Trump Tower since 1999, as The Real Deal previously reported. His most recent purchase puts him one unit ahead of the Kirsh family, which closed on their fourth unit at another Trump building, the Trump International Hotel & Tower at 1 Central Park West, this past March. [more]

From left: Donald Trump and 725 Fifth Avenue (credit: PropertyShark)

The Donald’s Trump Organization has a refinance in the works for the 244,482 square feet of retail and offices at the Trump Tower headquarters at 725 Fifth Avenue, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal replaces a $27 million mortgage that’s soon to expire with a $100 million mortgage with some perks: a 4.2 percent interest rate and about $72.4 million in extra cash.

The new interest rate marks a decline from the previous 7.9 percent one. The property, excluding the more than 200 condominium units, is valued at $480 million. [more]

Derek Jeter and his Trump Tower penthouse

Derek Jeter has relisted his 88th floor penthouse in the Trump World Tower at UN Plaza, with a $2 million discount. The New York Post reported the Yankee captain is putting his 5,425-square-foot apartment, at 845 United Nations Plaza, on the market for $17.95 million with Carrie Chiang, a senior vice president with the Corcoran Group. [more]

From left: the interior of #25C, Alan Greenberg, former publisher of Esquire, and the interior of #30A

Alan Greenberg, the former publisher of Esquire Magazine and the president of Avenues, the world’s first global school system, has listed his two-bedroom spread at the Trump International Hotel & Tower for $5.75 million, he told The Real Deal today, and moved up to an $11 million unit on a higher floor in the building.

The former men’s magazine head said he and his wife, Joy, needed more space since the recent birth of their grandson, who will be visiting regularly. He said he loves the building, with its “extraordinary Central Park and Columbus Circle views.” [more]

From left: Jeffrey Chodorow, Trump Tower and his $18.8M unit

Jeffrey Chodorow, the restaurateur behind Asia de Cuba and China Grill, has relisted his Trump Tower apartment in Midtown with a 15 percent price bump, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Chodorow originally listed the 3,700-square-foot spread, comprised of three apartments he combined, for $16.4 million last April. He took the unit, on the 38th floor of 721 Fifth Avenue, off the market about five weeks ago Streeteasy.com shows, and is now relisting it with Oren Alexander of Prudential Douglas Elliman for $18.8 million. [more]

Knick Jeremy Lin and the Trump building in White Plains

Despite real estate attorney Edward Mermelstein’s recent offer of a free one-bedroom apartment, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has opted to move into two-bedroom apartment, which he’s subletting from former fellow Knick, David Lee, at a Trump Tower in downtown White Plains.

The basketball player, who’s recently been on a winning streak, will pay approximately $3,800 a month for an apartment in a 35-story building right off Main Street that’s also home to several other Knicks and Rangers players, the Daily News reported, marking the end of a two-month period spent on his brother’s couch. [more]

From left: Donald Trump, Mitt Romney and the Trump Tower at Columbus Circle

Donald Trump has apparently become a mandatory pit stop on Republican presidential candidates’ long drives to replace President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. And usually it makes for a great photo opportunity.

But MediaBistro reported that when Mitt Romney “went off to kiss the ring” of the Donald, he did so privately inside the Trump Tower, evading, and ultimately disappointing, a legion of press stationed outside the building.

“Well, pictures were snapped,” Trump later said to Fox News. “But they were snapped privately.”… [more]

From left: Donald Trump, Trump Tower, Steven Spielberg and Sophia Loren

Developer Donald Trump has caught the television bug and is creating a drama based on a group of New Yorkers who live in his prized property Trump Tower at 721 Fifth Avenue, the New York Post reported.

Although the show will be fictional, the writers will be able to draw inspiration from the celebrities and well-known characters that have taken up residence at the tower at one time or another. Steven Spielberg, Sophia Loren, Johnny Carson and Michael Jackson have all lived in the building.

“Several major network and cable channel executives have already called, and a battle has begun to see where it will air,” said Michael Cohen, Trump’s special counsel. [Post]… [more]

Makkos apartment at 721 Fifth Avenue

A glamorous Parisian-themed three-bedroom apartment in Trump Tower owned by the ex-wife of a hospitality mogul has hit the market today for $14.5 million.

The 55th-floor apartment, at 721 Fifth Avenue, is owned by Evangelia Makkos, former wife of Thomas Makkos, Central Park food-cart king-turned-hospitality-magnate and owner of celebrity hot spot Nello restaurant at 696 Madison Avenue, according to public records. The couple divorced three years ago, a source with intimate knowledge about the listing said, and Evangelia and her daughter are ready to move on, perhaps to another building or even another city.

Thomas and Evangelia together purchased the unit in 2000, according to public records. It was transferred into Evangelia’s name last month, records show. … [more]

1. U.S. developers appeal to “echo-boomers,“ people born in the 1980s and 1990s
[WSJ]
2. One WTC must be one of the safest buildings in the city: architect David Childs
[Crain's]
3. Park Slope tenants team up with public advocate Bill de Blasio to force building repairs
[NYDN]
4. Senator Catharine Young’s bill could mean the death of rent protection for high-income city residents
[NYDN]
5. U.S. developers appeal to “echo-boomers,“ people born in the 1980s and 1990s
[WSJ]
6. Living the farm lifestyle on Park Avenue
[WSJ]
7. Trump tower apartment finally sells for $1.8 million over the asking price
[Curbed]
8. More demolition related scaffolding for 35 Cooper Square
[Ev Grieve]
9. Northern Bridgehampton gets $7.995 million treehouse
[Curbed]
10. Concern mounts that Garment District is doomed as a fashion hub after departure of Oscar de la Renta and Phillip Lim
[Crain's]
11. Comptroller aims to explain rocketing co-op assessments
[Post]
… [more]