Apthorp drops prices by one-third to spur sales, largest overall condo reduction since the fall
March 26, 2009 12:10PM By Candace Taylor
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The owners of the Apthorp, an iconic but troubled apartment building on the Upper West Side, have slashed prices by roughly one-third in the wake of their recent brush with foreclosure.
Renovated condominium units at the block-through limestone building will now sell for an average of about $1,950 per square foot, according to Karen Mansour, director of sales and marketing for Prudential Douglas Elliman's Development Marketing Group, who is overseeing sales at the condo conversion. That represents a dramatic drop in prices from the building's initial offering plan, released in June, which called for prices of nearly $3,000 per square foot.
Early buyers at the building, which spans an entire block between Broadway and West End Avenue on 79th Street, have the option to buy either renovated or "as-is" apartments, said Howard Lorber, chairman of Elliman. Unrenovated units will sell for roughly $1,650 per square foot.
The price chop is the largest across-the-board reduction for a new condo or conversion project since the Wall Street meltdown this fall, said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The closest contender was a recent price cut at Northside Piers in Williamsburg that averaged 20 percent.
"I'm not aware of a listing price adjustment that large for a new construction project," Miller said.
Lorber said the intent of the price reduction is to quickly sell the first 30 units in order to get the condo plan declared effective.
"The fact is we want to make sure it gets declared effective, and then after that, [prices] will go up," he said.
The Apthorp, known for its three-story vaulted gateway and circular drive-in courtyard, was built by the Astor family and modeled after the Pitti Palace in Florence. Over the years, it has been home to celebrities like Nora Ephron, Conan O'Brien and Al Pacino, and more than half of the units remain rent-regulated.
Developer Maurice Mann and billionaire Lev Leviev acquired the 163-unit landmark building in 2007 -- at the height of the real estate bubble -- for a record $426 million.
But sales of the high-priced units were slow. By October of 2008, four months after the attorney general approved the offering plan, not a single apartment was in contract. A subsequent amendment offered some units for sale "as-is," allowing them to be sold for lower prices. Still, before long, the parties were enmeshed in a legal struggle that ended with Mann stepping down as managing agent, though he retains his stake in the building.
In the wake of the dispute, the Apthorp's lenders, including Anglo Irish Bank and Apollo Real Estate Advisors, asked the newly restructured Apthorp team to come up with a revised business plan to avoid foreclosure. Lorber said the revising price structure has been now established, and the owners are ready to proceed with a new marketing push.
"All the documents are done and signed and it's ready," he said. "They have all agreed on everything."
While Mann recently filed a lawsuit to block the new loan agreement from being executed, a source close to the negotiations said the parties are working on finalizing a settlement.
One- to four-bedroom units in the building will now range in price from $2 million to $7 million, Elliman's Mansour said. Prior to the reduction, the lowest priced unit was a 1,750-square-foot two-bedroom listed for $3.45 million, and the most expensive was a 12-room spread for $15.5 million.
"We came up with pricing that was very fair to the market," Mansour said, adding that the price cuts are accompanied by a renewed marketing effort. A model unit at the building will be ready within 10 days, she said.
Mansour said that two condos at the Apthorp have been sold to date, although Streeteasy.com shows no units in contract.
The Apthorp's prices are still high compared to other condos in the area, said Amelia Gewirtz, an executive vice president at Halstead Property, who has listings in the neighborhood. Still, "the Apthorp is a very special building," she said. "It's definitely a building that people will pay extra to live in."
While there are other issues at the building, price cuts could help.
Leonard Steinberg, an executive vice president at Elliman, said he has shown units in the Apthorp to potential buyers, but they were put off by the building's legal troubles, the fact that so few apartments had been sold, and the presence of so many rental tenants.
He added that the initial pricing was overly ambitious. "If you aren't on Central Park, those prices are high," he said.
The current pricing, however, is more likely to motivate buyers to sign on the dotted line. "At this price, you could sell out the building," Steinberg said.
As for the drama surrounding the project, its impact on buyers depends on whether the squabbling is over.
"Once [the legal troubles] are resolved and the parties make it clear that it's over, I don't think [they will have] any impact on sales," Miller said.
Elliman's Lorber said the legal squabbles have certainly been an impediment to sales in recent months.
"I think it impacted it up until now," he said, adding that some buyers were dissuaded from purchasing in the building by their lawyers on account of the uncertain fate of the project.
But he believes the building is now priced attractively enough that buyers will overlook past troubles.
"Buyers are going to be looking for value," Lorber said. "It's [a] one of a kind [building], and they'll be ready to buy."
Mann and Richard Marin, chairman of Africa Israel USA, Leviev's company, declined to comment.
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Comments
Anonymous
Wow, you can be in a movie a month, with crews rumaging through the building. You can be a part of a major rehabilitation of the building with dust and dirt everywhere. The noise level will increase with the construction of new risers, new windows, etc. If the garage construction gets finished and is safe, maybe the garage will reopen someday? Come and get it. Its cheap at this price?
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
it needed to be a 2/3rd drop. better luck next time
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
enough with the embarrassing "cross my arms i am a power broker" pose.
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
2000 a square foot lol good luck
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
ELLIMAN brokers are all sitting in their offices waiting for the phone to ring. Someone help them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Comment #5 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
I love how brokers are still trying to create a sense of urgency, "After the first 30 are sold, the prices will go up" Uh-huh. Wanna bet?
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
There aren't enough RICH people left in NYC who want to live with rent regulated tenants.... Oh the horror of riding the elevator with a rent controlled $400 a month 2 bedroom old time tenant while you paid $3 million...for your kondoze in da sky
Comment #7 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
Its a great building. Its just priced very high. In order to get those kinds of prices you have to wait for inflation and the a different marketplace.
Comment #8 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
$1,950 per square foot is still ridiculous. Do these people read the papers? I could see a renovated apartment selling for $1,200 per square foot. 2005-2007 prices are gone forever. Pricing is now 2000-2003 people! They will never sell apartments at these prices...not today.
Comment #9 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
Yeah, sorry guys, but this ain't going to cut it. Let's try again at $650 per sq ft, then we can talk.
Comment #10 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
They're way behind the curve. And they will have to be much more aggressive with the cuts to get me to look at that rat-hole/roach motel. what's the maintenance on that place anyhow?
Comment #11 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
#8 - exactly - what a stupid system we have that gives one person a $400/month apartment and forces another to pay $3M for similar space. Stupid governance. Just stupid. The developer should be allowed to pay the city $200K to destabilize a unit. Then with some leverage the city could take the $200K and build 3 affordable units elsewhere. 3 affordable units is better than 1. We of course would allow the current RS tenant to live in the brand new construction apartment.
Comment #12 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
What a joke. Those apartments must be cut by 66% to $1,000 sq ft. And even then I think they would not sell today.
Comment #13 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
My guess is that many of the people who are commenting here are not familiar with exactly what the Apthorp is. It's a beautiful structure. Great history. Awesome location and wonderful neighborhood all by itself. To think that its prices should be less than some of the new condos out there right now, is absurd. Let's not mistake this place with the Manhattan House. This is a great building.
Comment #14 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
If you have ever been inside an Aphorp apartment you will see why they think they can get 2k a foot. They really are incredible spaces, but 3k a foot was crazy without being on the park.
Comment #15 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
The Apthorp is a gem, a one of a kind property that retains the glamour of an era gone by. Living at The Apthorp for me was the best experience I will ever have from a home Best of luck to M Mann & Company D Elliman, get the plan effective
Comment #16 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
#15, I'm familiar with the Apthorp, yes it is a great building and I would love to live there. However it is still ridiculously overpriced. Consider the kind of person who can pay $2,000 psf - most are middle aged business people who greatly value privacy and security. Living in a megabuilding is not their style - they would prefer to have a keyed elevator leading into a high floor apartment with maybe one or two other tenants on the same floor, The modern rich don't have much of a sense of history, or classical aesthetics or community and it is these qualities that make the Apthorp special, thus they won't be impressed. Also, the large number of rent stabilized tenants doesn't help. In this economy the Apthorp could market it itself at the $1,300 - $1,600 psf level depending on the unit. The owner may know this and the drop might be a setup for a further 20% reduction in a couple of months. I love the building but there's no way I 'd pay more than $1,390 psf, and that would be for one of the best units in the joint.
Comment #17 Posted By: Anonymous 03/26/09
Anonymous
People who say the building isn't worth $2,000/sq ft are people who have never been in the building. The Apthorp building is the pinnacle of luxury. No point in commenting unless you have been in the building yourself...
Comment #18 Posted By: Anonymous 03/27/09
Anonymous
It is interesting that most of the comments are from people who have never been in the building and do not have a clue. Luxury the building is not but it is comfortable. Most of the brokers involved would not qualify for this type of building.
Comment #19 Posted By: Anonymous 03/27/09
Anonymous
I agree with #15. Lose the attitude.
Comment #20 Posted By: Anonymous 03/27/09
Anonymous
It really does exude an aura of old-world elegance from the street level when you pass by those arched entrances.
Comment #21 Posted By: Anonymous 03/27/09
Anonymous
"emergency, emergency, the bottom is coming, everybody to get from street!!!"
Comment #22 Posted By: Anonymous 03/29/09
Anonymous
The Apthorp is a beautiful building, I am so sorry that the blood-diamond pig-man, Lev Leviev got his swine like hands on it. I hope takes another 1/3 price reduction to sell the units and I'd like to punch "cross my arms power broker fat boy in the stomach.
Comment #23 Posted By: Anonymous 03/30/09
Anonymous
It's a great building but NY is facing a nuclear winter. Howard Lorber is a liar, just like Dolly Lenz, he's a slimeball broker, if his lips are moving he's lying. Anyone who buys there for a nickel over $700 a foot, is a lunatic and should be in Payne Whitney. Four words: Depression, Manhattan, nuclear winter.
Comment #24 Posted By: Anonymous 04/03/09
Anonymous
The building was once grand, now it is just a tired and worn out building with noe of the opulence or grandeur of its prior days. As on tours the courtyard, the bedsheets, newspapers and other assorted "window treatments" in the rent-controlled apartments cannot be missed. These very special and unique window treatments will look lovely next to the fine fabrics in the $15.5 million apartments. Lorber, Mann, Levieve, Feil, et al need to wake up and "smell the roses." Anyone that pays over $500 a foot belongs in the Bellevue Psychiatric Ward!
Comment #25 Posted By: Anonymous 04/07/09
Anonymous
Elliman is supposedly selling at $1950, even though the numbers are much higher on Streeteasy. Further to this, Maurice Mann's court documents show he was planning on selling a block of 78 apartments for $1000 a foot after the plan was declared effective by the Attorney General. Wow! This proves that anyone who buys now would be paying almost double what Mann was going to charge later.
Comment #26 Posted By: Anonymous 04/07/09
Anonymous
Sounds like the mental patients are running the asylum and don't have a clue about real estate at all!
Comment #27 Posted By: Anonymous 04/07/09
Anonymous
Why doesn't Mann sell the block of 78 apartments for $1k a foot and get the plan declared effective immediately?
Comment #28 Posted By: Anonymous 04/08/09
Anonymous
Why are some people being offered that apartments at $1000 a foot, while others are being offered the apartments at $2100 a foot? There's something fishy going on here!
Comment #29 Posted By: Anonymous 04/15/09
Anonymous
At $1000 a foot, the price is still ridiculous. It's on 79th & B'way for Chrissake!
Comment #30 Posted By: Anonymous 04/27/09