Saudi billionaire closes on NYC’s highest pad for $88M

432 Park PH went for $10,600+ psf; CIM provided $56M purchase money mortgage

Fawaz Al Hokair and the view from 432 Park (Credit: DBOX for CIM Group/Macklowe Properties)
Fawaz Al Hokair and the view from 432 Park (Credit: DBOX for CIM Group/Macklowe Properties)

The buyer of 432 Park Avenue‘s highest and priciest penthouse has closed on the unit for $87.7 million, property records show. The deal marks the sale of the city’s highest residence and the biggest closed sale in New York so far this year. But the purchase stands out for another reason: CIM Group, the property’s co-developer, provided the buyer a loan for nearly two-thirds of the purchase price. 

The buyer, who according to sources is Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Al Hokair, closed on the apartment on Sept. 9 for a whopping $10,623 per square foot, property records filed with the city Thursday show. On a per-square-foot basis, that appears to be one of the priciest-ever done deals in the city.

The 8,255-square-foot full-floor penthouse was asking $95 million, or just over $11,500 per square foot. Al Hokair went into contract on the property in 2013, according to multiple news reports. The apartment features a wood-burning fireplace, heated bathroom floors and the building’s signature 10-foot-by-10-foot windows.

In a rather unusual move for a project sponsor, CIM provided the buyer with a $56 million loan to acquire the unit, records filed with the city on Thursday show. It was not immediately clear why the Los Angeles-based firm provided the purchase money mortgage. A spokesperson for CIM did not immediately comment on the financing.

A representative for Macklowe Properties [TRDataCustom], which developed the building in partnership with CIM Group, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

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Prior to this one, the priciest closed sale in the building was a full-floor unit for $59.1 million. Earlier this week a member of the Mikati family closed on a three-bedroom condo for $28 million. A penthouse that was asking $76.5 million is also under contract.

Al Hokair is the founder and chairman of Fawaz Alhokair Group, a conglomerate that mainly focuses on retail franchising. The company has 2,100 stores across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

The city’s priciest closed sale remains a pad at One57, which went for $100.5 million. Others on the podium include an $88 million deal at 15 Central Park West.

Adam Pincus contributed reporting.