Geffen takes a bath at 785 Fifth Ave.
January proved to be a drippy month for New York City luxury real estate.
First, the undisclosed owner of a $46.25 million apartment at 432 Park [TRDataCustom] filed suit against the pricey project’s developers, CIM Group and Macklowe Properties, to get their $11.56 million deposit back, claiming that a massive water leak destroyed the unit.
Then, over at 785 Fifth Avenue, the insurance provider for billionaire entertainment mogul David Geffen filed suit against two construction companies over alleged $1 million in damages to the Dreamworks founder’s penthouse during a renovation.
But for NYC real estate addicts, the ordeal prompts a larger question: Why on earth is Geffen’s renovation taking so long? He bought the 20-room penthouse from socialite Denise Rich back in 2013 for $54 million, so it’s been nearly four years and counting. At the time, it was a record price for a co-op in New York City.
It’s unclear exactly what Geffen is doing with the apartment, which was said to be livable and even enviable at the time of the sale. And the renovation is clearly irking Geffen’s neighbors, a couple of whom already filed suit against him last spring, calling the noise from the rehab work “constant and ear-splitting.”
Perhaps Geffen is simply too busy to focus on wrapping up the work.
He reportedly spent a large part of last year partying on Steven Spielberg’s yacht in the Bahamas and later on his own in Mexico. At least on yachts, getting splashed every now and then is part of the deal.
Mr. Robot in search of an upgrade
“Mr. Robot” star Christian Slater is basking in the glow of critical acclaim for his USA Network series. He recently bagged himself his second Golden Globe nomination.
Now he’s looking to bag himself a new home.
The former bad-boy movie actor has been spotted scoping properties with brokers Charlie Panoff and Sean Jadidian of Keller Williams.
Panoff declined to comment on what Slater’s looking for, but it’s going to be easy to best his old pad.
The actor’s former digs at 445 West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen looked more like a prison cell than a celebrity home. He bought the two-bedroom unit in August 2005 for $882,500 and turned a profit last month when he unloaded it for $1.1 million. By the looks of things, the actor is far tamer and happier than during his youth. Slater has been upfront about drug and alcohol problems. Nowadays, he is relishing time with his two kids. “He just seemed really nice, down-to-earth and super friendly,” said one person who ran into Slater during his apartment search.
432 Park Avenue
A 432 Park home run?
Sources are telling me that Jamie McCourt, the former co-owner of the L.A. Dodgers, has nabbed a $9.85 million apartment at 432 Park Avenue. The 2,224-square-foot, 36th-floor property has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. McCourt, who reached a $131 million settlement with ex-hubbie Frank McCourt after 32 years of marriage in 2011, must think the property is a good investment. In recent years, she’s been doing the lecture circuit, talking about how women need to get smart about their finances.
“Marriage is big business,” she told the Huffington Post last year. “It’s business, and it’s romantic business, but it’s business, so understand the business.”
Borrok snags penthouse at 30 Park Place
Spies tell me that Andrew Borrok, the eccentric Hamptons real estate investor who used his fortune to finance his successful campaign to become a Brooklyn judge, has snagged himself a penthouse at Larry Silverstein’s 30 Park Place in the Financial District.
The 5,443-square-foot property was on the market for $26.19 million and is one of just three penthouses available at the classic condo tower.
Borrok can certainly afford it. Prior to becoming a judge, he was an aspiring chef who once reportedly purchased a cryogenic freezer to store fish flown in from Japan just so he could impress celebrities such as Mischa Barton. And he once dyed the water in his Hamptons pool a shade of red for a party in honor of “Sopranos” actress Lorraine Bracco, who was making a new wine. The savvy investor, who is the son of Cushman & Wakefield chairman Charles Borrok, sold the Watermill estate for $23 million last year after buying it in 2003 for $3.6 million.
We’ll definitely drink to that!