UPDATED, 6:55 p.m., Sept. 26: In the middle of their $2 billion divorce, Linda and Harry Macklowe have another asset to squabble over: his-and-hers apartments at 432 Park Avenue.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Linda Macklowe said her soon-to-be ex-husband filed plans this summer to drastically shrink the size of her $14.4 million pad — leaving her with a modest one-bedroom unit instead of the three-bedroom aerie she intended to buy.
Even worse: The new plans called for transferring the extra square footage from her condo to Harry, who is buying the adjacent unit, according to the filing.
In 2013, Linda and Harry purchased adjacent units on the 78th floor of the luxury supertall condominium developed by Harry and CIM Group, according to the suit.
Linda was to pay $14.4 million for her pad — Unit 78A — and paid a deposit of $2.16 million, according to the complaint. The purchase price for Harry’s apartment — Unit 78B — was not disclosed.
After delaying her closing four times — in breach of the purchase agreement, the suit claims — developers Macklowe Properties and CIM Group filed plans in June to amend the floor plans for both units.
According to updated building plans, Linda’s unit was cut down to 1,766 square feet from 2,663 square feet. The extra square footage was simply added to her estranged husband’s abode, the suit claims. The developers did not file an amendment to the condo offering plan.
“While the offering plan grants the sponsor a limited right to amend the plans and specifications of the building, nothing in the offering plan that grants the sponsor the right to effect this unwarranted amendment,” wrote Adam Leitman Bailey, an attorney for Linda Macklowe, in a Sept. 20 letter to the sponsors.
Linda filed for divorce last year, after Harry said he was leaving her for another woman. With no prenup, the Macklowes are fighting over a vast real estate portfolio and art collection, as well as a $41 million yacht and a $100 million apartment at The Plaza. Harry’s lawyers have so far tried to downplay his net worth, pointing out vulnerabilities in his projects, and arguing that their client is $400 million in the red.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Harry said that the developer contracted an apartment at the building “as a gift.”
“In Her Divorce Court papers, Mrs. Macklowe has categorically stated that she did not want to live in, did not intend to live in and did not want to buy the apartment,” the spokesperson continued. “However, nothing has changed with the status of the residence or with her contract. Mrs. Macklowe lives in a 20,000-square foot apartment in The Plaza Condominium, which she has said she has no intention of selling.”