A Columbus Circle condominium that appeared unsellable for the past decade, has finally sold for almost $12 million — almost half the amount of an earlier asking price.
The 63rd floor unit in the Time Warner Center sold today to an anonymous foreign buyer in a cash deal for $11.99 million. The unit was first put up for sale in 2007 and has been re-listed no less than 10 times until it was finally bought this week, $750,000 less than its most recent asking price.
Unit 63A, a 2,650-square-foot space, has a colorful history under its former owner Guy Benhamou, a French businessman who first listed the property himself following a spat with his first broker, in which he accused the agent of listing the property at too low a price.
Listing broker, Charlie Attias, with Corcoran Group, took over the property last summer, and said he immediately took to working the foreign market. Unobstructed views of Central Park, without the possibility of another building shooting up in front makes for an easy sell to foreign buyers, Attias said.
“Foreigners will pay a premium for this type of view,” Attias said. “A lot of newer buildings are not directly on the park. On any day they could be obstructed by new buildings being built.”
At almost $4,600 per square foot, the three bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom unit faces directly onto the southwest corner of Central Park.
Benhamou first listed the unit at $12.9 million in 2007 but then raised it to $15 million when a broker with a similar listing put a unit on the market for a much higher price, the New York Times reported. His broker at the time, Corcoran’s Patricia Warburg Cliff, had suggested a $7.5 million price tag. He reportedly passed up an offer for $10.8 million, and in 2008, it was re-listed by a broker from Brown Harris Stevens for $16.5 million, according to StreetEasy.
The property has since been priced as low as $9.5 million and as high as $21.5 million, according to StreetEasy.
Benhamou, who is the CEO of jewelry brand Charles Garnier, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Property records state the buyer is a New York-registered company, United Phoenix International LLC.