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Unit at Trump Park Avenue closes for $14M

<i>Bank of America exec is likely seller of unit 3A</i>


An image of the unit that Lawrence Rich, a vice president at
Prudential Douglas Elliman (left), helped his client purchase (unit to left)
and a nearly identical-looking unit (right) listed by Bank of America exec
Brian Brille (click image for larger version)

A buyer with a love of Trump Park Avenue has closed on a $14 million apartment in the condominium, according to the buyer’s broker Lawrence Rich, a vice president with Prudential Douglas Elliman.
The seller is likely Bank of America Asia-Pacific market President Brian Brille.

Before sealing the deal for corner condo unit 3A at 502 Park Avenue yesterday, the buyer, listed as Faraya LLC, had made bids on other high-profile apartments in the same building, including Yankee Alex Rodriguez’s $10 million pad in February and Sheikh Abdul Aziz’s $14 million residence in July, said Rich, who has been working with the buyer from the get-go.

When unit 3A, a 5,473-square-foot, four-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bathroom apartment came on the market in early October, Rich said he had this particular buyer in mind.

“The second that this listing came out I was on the phone three times in one hour… to get him to the city,” Rich told The Real Deal. He would not disclose the identity of the buyer, saying his client wants to remain anonymous.

The buyer put in an offer on the apartment two days later. Within a week, the sellers accepted the $14 million offer, which was $750,000 below the asking price.

Although Rich claims that he “knows nothing” about the identity of the seller, the apartment’s listing details, including square footage, date it was listed, and the mother of pearl adornments, match that of Bank of America Asia-Pacific market President Brian Brille’s former apartment at Trump Park Avenue (see above). Carrie Chiang of the Corcoran Group was the listing agent.

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Chiang declined to comment. The Real Deal was not immediately able to reach Brille, who is now based in Hong Kong, according to a Bank of America spokesperson.

Before negotiating a successful deal for unit 3A, the buyer’s attempts to purchase other units in the building collapsed during the offering process, Rich said.

The Rodriguez deal fell through when the buyer bid $2 million under the asking price, offering $8 million for the pad, Rich said. What they hadn’t expected “during a time when the whole world was falling apart,” Rich said, was that another interested party would outbid him by $2 million.

But when Faraya LLC bid $10 million for Sheikh Abdul Aziz’s apartment in July, the listed price for the unit at the time, the seller raised the price by $4 million, Rich said.

The 120-unit building off 59th Street is home to some of the priciest condos, including a four-bedroom unit that was listed for $51 million in February, according to Cityfile, and a $31 million unit that came online in July. The $31 million unit has yet to nab a buyer, according to Streeteasy.

The average listing price per square foot, based on the 13 active sales units in the 120-unit building, is $3,964, according to Streeteasy.com.

So, given Faraya LLC’s foible-filled past with the building, Rich said he was delighted to close on the luxe pad, which includes 16 windows — 12 of which face Park Avenue — and chichi interior details, such as the mother of pearl ceilings.

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