The Weeknd drops $21M on Beverly West penthouse

Musician matches other splashy deals at Emaar Properties’ project

Abel Tesfaye, AKA The Weeknd, will be rocking out at a Beverly West penthouse (Credit: Google Maps and Getty Images)
Abel Tesfaye, AKA The Weeknd, will be rocking out at a Beverly West penthouse (Credit: Google Maps and Getty Images)

Luxury living in Los Angeles is increasingly going vertical, and a musician’s purchase of $21 million condo at Emaar Properties’ Beverly West project represents one of the biggest high-rise deals yet.

Abel Tesfaye, who performs under the name The Weeknd, paid just over $2,550 a square foot, for a penthouse condo at 1200 Club View Dr. in the Beverly West neighborhood, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Advertised as “The Mogul” unit, the condo occupies the entire 18th floor of The Beverly West, a 22-story, 35-unit condo complex built in 2009 by Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties. The tower features a rooftop helipad among other amenities.

Bill Simpson, Jeff Hyland, and Susan Pekich of Hilton & Hyland represented Emaar Properties in the deal. Angel Salvador of The Agency represented Tesfaye.

The 8,200-square-foot condo residence features floor-to-ceiling windows, oak floors, and walnut wood paneling. The sponsor unit was priced at north of $23 million.

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Tesfaye’s purchase represents a growing trend in high-end real estate where more luxury buyers are moving away from sprawling estates in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Brentwood and into high-rise living that retains the privacy of L.A.’s signature mansions.

Two years ago, another pop star, Rihanna, relocated from her Palisades mention to a condo at The Century in Century City, developed by the Related Companies. And billionaire real estate titan Richard Lewis matched the Tesfaye’s purchase price in July, buying a $21 million penthouse condo in the same Beverly West building. Tesfaye and Lewis’ purchases are the biggest condo deals since Candy Spelling’s $35 million duplex deal in The Century in 2010.

In an interview earlier this month, Simpson said high-end buyers are attracted to condos so long as there is 24/7 security, and amenities including pool, gym, and multiple-car garages.

Simpson also said prospective condo buyers tend to be younger and more artistically-inclined.

“The high-rise lifestyle is getting a little hipper, and the penthouses are the cream of the crop,” he said. [LAT]Matthew Blake