David Mandelbaum, early Steve Roth backer and Vikings owner, buys $23M pad at 220 CPS David Mandelbaum Pays $23M at 220 Central Park South

In 1964, real estate investor David Mandelbaum wrote a $250,000 check to an up-and-comer named Steve Roth.

This fall, Mandelbaum — now a minority owner of the Minnesota Vikings — snagged himself a $23.4 million pad at the developer’s coveted 220 Central Park South condo tower, according to a regulatory filing.

In its quarterly financials, Vornado Realty Trust disclosed that Mandelbaum and his brother each purchased a unit at the uber-luxe tower. (Mandelbaum’s brother paid $16.1 million, the filing said.) It’s unclear which units they purchased. But Mandelbaum purchased the apartment through a limited liability company controlled by his wife of 55 years, Karen.

220 Central Park South and Vornado chairman Steven Roth (Credit: Google Maps and Getty Images)

Popular

New York

Vornado's 220 Central Park South sees a $55M closing

Vornado's Steve Roth and 220 Central Park South (Credit: Getty Images, iStock)

Commercial

New York

Free and clear: Vornado pays off debt at 220 CPS

For years, Mandelbaum has sat on the boards of both Vornado and Alexander’s, the department store chain-turned-REIT controlled by Vornado. In 2005, he was part of a partnership led by New Jersey developer Zygi Wilf that purchased the Vikings for a reported $600 million.

Steven Roth (Credit: Getty Images)

Decades earlier, Mandelbaum ponied up seed money for Roth’s Interstate Properties, a partnership between Mandelbaum, Roth and Russell Wight Jr.

In 1979, Interstate purchased discount chain Two Guys and gained control of its parent company, Vornado. In 1993 Vornado Realty Trust went public. Today the REIT is one of the biggest property owners in Manhattan, where it owns 23 million square feet of office and retail space and is overhauling the Penn Plaza district and Farley Building. That project is being funded with proceeds from 220 Central Park South.

To date, Vornado has closed on 48 units at 220 CPS valued at $1.25 billion, the company reported Monday. During the three months ended September 30, there were 14 closings totaling $348.8 million.

With 117 units, 220 CPS has a projected sellout of $3.4 billion and cost $1.4 billion to build. It’s expected to generate $1 billion in profits for Vornado.

In January, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin paid a record $238 million for the penthouse at the limestone tower. The Robert A.M. Stern building is also home to rocker Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, who paid $65.7 million for a penthouse there. Other neighbors include Paramount Group’s Albert Behler and Daniel Och.