Real estate exec lists condo for $26.3M

Other listings to hit the market are a 10-room penthouse at 730 Park Avenue and renowned hairstylist John Barrett’s furnished West Village pad 
September 08, 2010 05:15PM

By Candace Taylor

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With Labor Day in the rear-view mirror, a bevy of new properties is hitting the market, providing plenty of fodder for our new weekly feature, The Hot Sheet.

A 49th-floor condo at the Bristol Plaza at 200 East 65th Street just hit the market for $26.25 million. According to city documents, the apartment is owned by Eric Hadar, a real estate investor who recently completed a stint in rehab after an arrest on drug possession charges.

Hadar is the CEO of New York City real estate firm Allied Partners, a major stakeholder in Terra Holdings, parent company of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property.

The 11-room apartment is listed by Hadar’s mother, Brown Harris Stevens broker Margery Hadar, and BHS colleague Brenda Powers. Margery declined to comment, but according to the listing, the 6,000-square-foot, four-bedroom home recently underwent a $12 million renovation, and has a movie theater and a salt-water aquarium that divides the dining room and living room.

Hadar formed Allied Partners in 1993, reportedly with $500,000 in seed money from his father, multimillionaire Richard Hadar. The younger Hadar made his mark on the real estate industry in 2001 by scraping together $725 million to Purchase The Citigroup Center On Lexington Avenue.

But in recent years, he’s fallen on hard times. In October 2008, he was arrested after Yonkers police found three ounces of cocaine and more than 1,000 Valium, Xanax and Oxycontin pills in his car, according to a 17-count indictment.

After the arrest, Eric, who could not be reached for comment, did not serve jail time but was required to enter a drug treatment program, while his father handled affairs at Allied Partners. But the two quickly became embroiled in a legal struggle over control of the company. In February 2009, Richard filed a lawsuit against his son, claiming among other things that Eric used “resources at Allied Partners to manage his personal interests.” Specifically, the suit said, “Allied Partners’ personnel have been extensively involved in… the two year renovation of an apartment owned by Eric at 200 East 65th Street,” as well as renovations at his house in Bedford Hills, NY. An attorney for Richard Hadar, Michael Rosenbaum, told The Real Deal that the case was settled out of court.

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Louise Beit, a Sotheby’s International Realty senior vice president who is best known for selling a townhouse to Madonna last year, has listed a 10-room penthouse at 730 Park Avenue for $14.9 million. The duplex, on the 17th and 18th floors, has five landscaped terraces, or six, if you count the one outside the maid’s room window, Beit said.

“It’s probably one of the most important apartments, architecturally, on Park Avenue right now,” said Beit, who declined to identify the owner of the apartment. Neighbors include socialite Elizabeth Lindemann, who paid $10.5 million for her ninth-floor home in 2006, and Karen Lauder, ex-wife of Estée Lauder CEO William Lauder, who bought a 19th-floor apartment from her former husband in June for $15 million.

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Stepping onto the terrace at famed hairstylist John Barrett’s West Village apartment feels like stumbling upon a verdant, hidden oasis.

The 500-square-foot terrace — constructed from a sturdy Brazilian hardwood called ipe — is planted with bamboo saplings, so it stays green even in the winter.

“The Bamboo Completely Fills Out The Place,” said Barrett, who designed the terrace with the help of landscape designer James Johnson. “You really don’t believe you’re in New York at all.”

Until now, you had to be invited to one of Barrett’s fabulous dinner parties to experience this lush outdoor space. But the 1,600-square-foot apartment at 65 West 13th Street — which has been featured in Elle Décor — is now listed for rent with the Corcoran Group’s Ric Swezey. The two-bathroom, one-bedroom home is available fully furnished for $15,000 per month.

Barrett’s eponymous salon at Bergdorf Goodman is frequented by celebrities like Julia Styles and Sophie Dahl, and served as the inspiration for the book “Bergdorf Blondes.” When the Ireland-born Barrett moved to the West Village five years ago, he wanted a space where he could entertain his glittering social circle, from intimate dinners to parties for 100 or more.

“Entertaining is such a crucial part of my life, so I had to have an apartment that would be comfortable whether there were just two or 30 to dinner,” he said.

One of the benefits of the sumptuously decorated terrace is that “I can have a table of 12 outside, and a table of 12 inside for dinner,” he said. “On a beautiful evening, it’s amazing.”

Another unique feature is the bathroom, with 12-foot ceilings and a speaker system that pipes music through the glass of the steam shower. A sliding panel connects the guest bathroom and the master bathroom.

“In so many New York [apartments] you go into, the guest bathroom just sits gathering dust,” he said. “I thought, ‘well, that’s kind of silly.’ I wanted to have the opportunity to open it up, so you have one huge bathroom or two pretty significant single bathrooms.”

Barrett decorated the apartment with photos and paintings collected over the years, many of them gifts from friends.

“Everything on the wall has a personal connection,” he said. For example, he has framed sketches of the Tony Award-winning set of “The Pillowman,” designed by his friend Scott Pask. Pask also designed the set of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” for the Roundabout Theatre Company, and when Barrett went to see the play, he fell in love with the chandelier used on stage. “When I was watching the show, I thought, my God, the chandelier is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I said to [Pask] afterwards, please can I buy it? So the producers called me and we came to an arrangement.”

Today, the chandelier hangs above his dining room table.

The baby grand piano in the apartment also has a story: it once stood in the now-closed iconic restaurant Tavern on the Green. (Barrett is close friends with the former owners, the LeRoy family.)

So why is he leaving the space he’s decorated with such care? Barrett said he has to relocate temporarily, but he’s loathe to leave the space for good, hence the rental. “I don’t want to let go of this apartment,” he said.

The apartment is also available unfurnished, but Barrett hopes that whoever rents it will appreciate the décor as much as he does.

“I think that anyone who would take it would realize that they’re going into something special,” he said.

Have a tip? E-mail Candace Taylor at ct@therealdeal.com.

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