CPW penthouse sells at $5M discount after snafu trips up owners

It already had a recital hall, golf simulator and panoramic views of Central Park. And now, after years of legal battles, the penthouse triplex of 115 Central Park West finally has a buyer.

Jane and Norman Alpert, a co-president of Vestar Capital Partners, have purchased the apartment for $13.2 million, according to public records.

The unit tops the Majestic, a two-towered, 29-story co-op bordering the park. The Art Deco high-rise stands opposite West 72nd Street from the Dakota, where Beatles singer John Lennon lived and was killed in 1980.

The co-op penthouse nearly sold in 2018 for $18.5 million to Bank of New York Mellon CEO Charlie Scharf. Just after signing, Scharf filed a lawsuit against the sellers, Nancy Lee and David Tolley, after learning the two had failed to get a certificate of occupancy for the unit after renovating it. That would have left Scharf on the hook for any code violations the new design and unique floor plans might have received.

With Scharf out of the picture, the building received a final certificate of occupancy on September 30, 2019, according to public records.

The splashy acquisition comes as Manhattan’s luxury market braces for a summer slowdown.