A sprawling 16th-floor cond-op at Extell Development’s 995 Fifth Avenue, the last remaining sponsor unit at the historic building, has returned to the market with a new broker after a four-month hiatus, according to Streeteasy.com.
The 8,360-square-foot unit, at the former Stanhope Hotel, failed to sell after almost two years on the market with Michele Kleier and Samantha Kleier Forbes of Gumley Haft Kleier, asking $27.5 million, but now the listing has changed hands. Nikki Field of Sotheby’s International Realty took over marketing over the property yesterday and has upped the price to a rounder $30 million.
“I’m only sorry that we weren’t successful in selling the apartment,” Michele Kleier said. “It’s really beautiful.”
The apartment, a full-floor, seven-bedroom residence with 10-foot ceilings, a private elevator entry and views of Central Park, achieved some fame when it was featured in the HGTV series “Selling New York” in 2010, in which Extell’s decision to bring in Gumley Haft Kleier to help Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group sell the unit and one other on the 15th floor caused drama. Corcoran had previously been the exclusive agent for the building.
Since then, the cond-op has maintained its status as the last remaining unit in the 17-story, 26-unit, gut-renovated building since the units hit the market almost five years ago. The other remaining apartment, on the 15th floor, sold to Joseph Plumeri, CEO of insurance giant Willis Holdings Group, in 2010; he later filed a lawsuit against Extell alleging $3 million worth of defects were undisclosed before he purchased the unit for $20.5 million.
The Stanhope is a land-lease building where the land underneath the property is not owned by the current developer, according to an agent who has listed units in the building. The land-lease has 150 years to run. “To be honest, I don’t know how this building has sold at all,” he said, referring to the land-lease situation.
The Stanhope was built by Rosario Candela in 1926 and received a complete interior renovation in 2008. As The Real Deal previously reported, Extell President Gary Barnett changed the development’s name at that time after the legacy of the building failed to translate into real estate gold.
Barnett and Field did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sponsor unit is not the only apartment for sale in the building. Beer heiress Daphne Guiness has listed her four-bedroom, four-bathroom spread for $14 million, according to the listing, which hit the market in January.