From one billionaire to another, an Upper East Side duplex co-op changes hands. Charles Lazarus, the founder and chairman emeritus of Toys “R” Us, has sold his home at 960 Fifth Avenue to Peruvian finance mogul Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor for $21 million, according to records filed yesterday with the city.
The three-bedroom, four-bathroom co-op on the 10th and 11th floors was listed in November for $25 million. The master bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Central Park. The 15-story, 19-unit building, also known as 3 East 77th Street, features a private restaurant led by a French chef and a penthouse fitness center.
Roderick Waywell, a broker at Charles Rutenberg Realty, represented both sides in the deal. He declined to comment on the sale, citing an agreement to keep details confidential.
“At this level, it’s just about what people want,” Waywell told The Real Deal, referring to the agreement.
Buyers at the co-op building have to shoulder a flip tax of 2 percent of the purchase price, as The Real Deal reported in 2011. Other residents include Brazilian steel magnate Benjamin Steinbruch, philanthropist Edgar Bronfman Sr. and velvet tycoon Loic De Kertanguy, according to reports from Curbed and the New York Observer.
Rodriguez-Pastor made headlines last month after suing the seller of a $27.5 million penthouse co-op at 1107 Fifth Avenue, near East 92nd Street, over the lack of a “private” wraparound terrace. He backed out of making the purchase, alleging he was misinformed about others’ access to the 4,780-square-foot veranda.
Lazarus founded the Wayne, N.J.-based toy retailer in 1948 — it now has more than 1,600 franchise locations in the U.S. — and handed off his CEO title in 2004 to Michael Goldstein.
It is unknown when Lazarus first purchased the co-op or how much he paid, Kathy Sloane of Brown Harris Stevens listed the apartment in 2011, when the asking price ultimately dropped from $29 million to $24.5 million, StreetEasy shows.