UAE Permanent Mission cobbles together UES assemblage

$47M spread could hold a consulate or megamansion

37-39 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side (credit: Google)
37-39 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side (credit: Google)

United Arab Emirates diplomats could be plotting a new megamansion on the Upper East Side after buying two adjacent buildings on East 74th Street for a combined $47.3 million.

The Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations acquired the buildings, at 37-39 East 74th Street, over the course of a year – buying one property from financier Eric Cleacher for $27.25 million last year and purchasing seven separate apartments in the building next door of a total of $20.64 million, according to city property records.

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The acquisitions could be combined into one massive residential property or diplomatic consulate – with the UAE following the lead of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has forked over nearly $80 million in cobbling together several residences one block north for a mega-mansion of his own, according to the New York Daily News.

It’s been a busy year in real estate for Middle Eastern diplomats, with the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar buying four apartments at Zeckendorf Development and Global Holdings’ 50 United Nations Plaza for around $45 million earlier this year. [NYDN]Rey Mashayekhi