After making several attempts to sell his pad, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is relisting his lavish penthouse apartment in the Plaza for $50 million. Hilfiger and his wife, Dee Ocleepo, first listed the apartment at 1 Central Park South in 2013 for $80 million. After dropping to $75 million in March 2015 and then $69 million, the most recent relisting had the property on the market for $58.9 million in April (h/t Mansion Global). The couple paid roughly $20 million in renovations for the 5,600-square-foot duplex, which features marble-clad rooms, vintage limestone fireplaces from England and a domed room that features a custom-designed “Elouise” mural designed by the children book’s illustrator Hilary Knight.
Central Park South
Central Park South, Policy
Photo via
Just two days after Mayor de Blasio spoke publicly of his idea to add contextual plaques to controversial statues around the city instead of razing them, Public Advocate candidate and Columbia University history professor David Eisenbach has proposed a completely different plan. In reference to City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s call to remove Central Park’s Columbus statue based on accounts that the explorer enslaved and killed indigenous people, Eisenbach suggested an alternative where Columbus Circle would be divided into public educational “plazas.” As reported by DNAinfo, these would include three parts of the Circle for “Conquest, Slavery, and Immigration.” Instead of taking down the monument, he believes this would “tell the story of Columbus’ legacy, the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Central Park South, condos, New Developments, Policy
Things have been shaky for 111 West 57th Street since it came to light last month that construction on the world’s will-be skinniest skyscraper was stalled at just 20 stories after Property Markets Group‘s Kevin Maloney and JDS Development’s Michael Stern were sued by real estate investment corporation and owner AmBase. Trying to salvage their $66 million investment, Ambase filed an injunction to stop lender Spruce Capital from seizing the $1 billion project, but yesterday a Supreme Court judge ruled that a strict foreclosure could move forward, meaning AmBase will likely lose its majority ownership, according to Crain’s. On the flip side, the developers will now be able to proceed with construction on the 1,421-foot Billionaires’ Row tower, whose units started going into contract earlier this month.
Central Park South, Policy
Photo via
“Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure for many of us, particularly those that come from the Caribbean,” said Puerto Rican-born City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. According to DNAinfo, Viverito is calling on the city to consider removing the Columbus Circle statue of the Italian explorer as part of their larger 90-day review of “symbols of hate.” She first introduced the proposal on Monday at a rally in East Harlem to remove another controversial statue, that of Dr. James Marion Sims, who achieved his title as the father of modern gynecology by performing experiments on slaves without consent and without anesthesia. Columbus, honored for discovering the Americas, is also believed to have enslaved and killed many of the indigenous people he encountered. In response, the Mayor’s office said the proposal will receive “immediate attention.” But of course, not everyone is happy about it.
Central Park South, New Developments, Starchitecture
Rendering of 111 West 57th Street via Property Markets Group
Just last week, 6sqft covered the financial and legal woes of Property Markets Group and JDS Development’s super tall and slender tower at 111 West 57th Street. Despite reports that construction had stalled over budget overruns and a potential foreclosure, the first condominiums, at what is lined up to be the world’s future tallest residential skyscraper, just went into contract (h/t The Real Deal). While Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, which issued a $325 million mezzanine loan for the project, did not share exactly how many units out of 60 are under contract, CEO Stuart Rothstein told TRD, they sold at “prices well over (Apollo’s) basis.”
Architecture, Central Park South, condos, New Developments, Starchitecture, Top Stories
The construction of Property Markets Group and JDS Development’s 1,421-foot-tall tower at 111 West 57th Street has been the subject of much anticipation and excitement, as it’s slated to be among the tallest residential skyscrapers anywhere and the world’s most slender with a height-to-width ratio of 24:1. But after rising only 20 stories, the SHoP Architects-designed Billionaires’ Row addition has stalled, plagued with budget overruns and headed for foreclosure, the New York Post reports.
Celebrities, Central Park South, Cool Listings
Sure, a piano is always a nice touch, especially in a classic Central Park South condo like this. But when that piano belonged to none other than the late David Bowie, that certainly changes things. First spotted by the Post, the Essex House apartment that he and wife Iman lived in from 1992 to 2002 (before moving to Soho, where she still lives) has hit the market for $6,495,000, which includes Bowie’s Yamaha.
Celebrities, Central Park South, Cool Listings
Emmy-winning actress and animal-rights activist Doris Roberts (you probably know her best as Marie Barone from “Everybody Loves Raymond”) passed away in April at the age of 90, and her estate has now put her classic duplex co-op on the market for $3,295,000 (h/t NY Post). The five-bedroom apartment at 200 Central Park South boasts a marble foyer, two terraces with partial park views, and oversized windows.
Architecture, Central Park South, Midtown, Urban Design
Just in case you had trouble spotting the Western Hemisphere’s tallest residential tower, beginning Monday, 432 Park Avenue will debut a brand new lighting feature that will turn the 1,396-foot supertall into a glowing beacon. As LLNYC reports, 32 LEDs will fill the tower’s five open-air “drum floors” where the building’s mechanicals are situated. 432 Park‘s starchitect, Rafael Viñoly, worked with HDLC Architectural Lighting Design to develop the scheme.
Central Park South, condos, New Developments
Back in September, there were murmurs that the Feil Organization had plans to convert a 57th Street office building into residences. As it turns out, Billionaires’ Row will indeed soon find itself with another 34 high-end condos in tow. As Yimby first reports, plans were filed last week to convert a 14-story, 1907 commercial tower at 140 West 57th Street into a mixed-use property that would keep an existing grocery story at its base, but transform the building’s upper 12 floors into 70,885 square feet of upscale living space.
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