Related’s Blau finds buyer for UES penthouse

Related Companies President Jeff Blau has finally found a buyer for his customized penthouse at the Chatham condominium on the Upper East Side, according to public records filed with the city today.

The two-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse, which was initially listed with Leighton Candler of the Corcoran Group last April for $18.9 million and later dropped its price to $15.7 million with Cathy Franklin and Alexis Bodenheimer of Brown Harris Stevens, ultimately fetched an even $14 million, records show. Franklin and Bodenheimer were not immediately available for comment.

A signature on the deed indicated that the penthouse, at 181 East 65th Street, may have been purchased by an executive at the Audax Group, a Boston- and New York-based private equity firm which manages over $5 billion in capital. Alicia Luongo Fix, a vice president at the firm, signed the deed, perhaps on behalf of one of the company’s famous CEOs – Geoffrey Rehnert and Mark Wolpow, both former directors of famous equity firm Bain & Company and known associates of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Fix wasn’t immediately available for comment, nor were Rehnert and Wolpow.

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The 3,160-square-foot penthouse duplex at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building, used by Blau as a bachelor pad before starting a family, according to news reports, was created specifically by Related with the exec in mind. It features 22-foot ceilings, four terraces, a library, media room and Central Park views. Blau, his wife, and their two children have moved on to a $21.5 million penthouse at 1040 Fifth Avenue.

In a recent interview with The Real Deal, Blau said: “I loved living in that building — the apartment was great. It’s sad to move out, but as two kids come along and you need more space, we opted to make the move.” Blau declined to comment on the transaction, which closed Dec. 1, through a spokesperson.