Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 2nd, 2012
There is rumor that the prime minister of Qatar is ready to pay nearly $100 million for the city’s most expensive penthouse — a super-slick, Thomas Juul-Hansen designed, two-story showplace atop the One57 condominium across the street from Carnegie Hall, The New York Post reports this morning (is this the same apartment they reported sold for $ 90 million earlier this year or another unit?)….almost triple the cost of the apartment he had wanted to buy where the co-op board rejected him.
Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani was turned down by the Fifth Avenue co-op board where he wanted to spend $31.5 million on two apartments owned by the late Huguette Clark, an eccentric American copper heiress according to reliable sources.
The massive duplex penthouse nestled above the hotel portion of the building features a “grand salon,” a large mezzanine, four fireplaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, at least five bedrooms, and motorized window shades. While negotiating to buy the 10,923-square-foot spread, Sheik Hamad also opened discussions with Extell Development about buying a cluster of four separate, full-floor condos in the 90-story One57 building, at 157 W. 57th St. That would up the total purchase to a staggering $250 million, sources said. Will the Sheik feel disillusioned when moving into the tallest residential building in Manhattan….only to look up and see Macklowe’s even taller building on Park Avenue looking down on him? So those who said One57 will be a RUSSIAN building, may turn out to be wrong after all. Qatar has an unelected, monarchic, Emirate-type government. The position of emir is hereditary, yet many refer to Qatar as a democracy: Qatar has the world’s highest per capita GDP and proven reserves of oil and natural gas. Qatar tops the list of the World’s richest countries by Forbes.
This story proves the lengths (and costs)some super-rich buyers have to go to to be able to buy a prize property in Manhattan: Does this mean that co-ops are worth half of condo’s that do not have the legal right to turn down buyers? Are co-op’s over-reacting to this profile of buyer? Granted, diplomatic immunity does come with certain risks and other owners in this building could be horrifically affected by an owner of this caliber not paying their common charges, or worse….. remember the Khassoggi’s at Olympic Tower? Is the co-op that rejected this buyer feeling wounded to-day or relieved?
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Tags: Huguette Clark, Khassoggi, Leonard Steinberg, new york post, new york real estate, Olympic Tower, One57, prime minister, Qatar, Sheik Hamad, Thomas Juul Hansen
