By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
The supertall residential tower at 432 Park Avenue is making news again.
As reported by the NY Times a full-floor penthouse in the building has sold for $70.5 million. The deal makes it to the top of May’s New York City residential sales and is among the largest residential transactions of 2022. The penthouse, which includes two staff suites on the 29th floor, was purchased by Yossi Benchetrit, a cable TV executive for Altice NY, and his wife, Gaëlle Pereira Benchetrit, who runs a medical spa only a few blocks away. They purchased the home using the limited liability company Blue Castle Investments. The couple already lives in the building, in a half-floor unit in one of the middle floors of the building. They had purchased their first unit in 2016, for about $24 million.
The penthouse they recently purchased, was on the market for close to two years, and the price was substantially reduced. It was first listed in August 2020 for $90 million, and then reduced to $79 million in 2021. The sprawling penthouse encompasses the entire 82nd floor of the 85-floor skyscraper and underwent a pricey and comprehensive renovation, combining two half-units. The home now offers a colossal 8,054 square feet of space. Just the great room alone is 1,100 square feet. It boasts five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, two powder rooms, two dressing rooms, two home offices, and a media room, as well as the staff quarters. The penthouse also features mesmerizing views of Central Park, and the Manhattan skyline.
Carrie Chiang and Andres Perea-Garzon of Corcoran Group were the listing agents, while Jason Haber of Compass represented the buyer. The unit’s seller is a limited partnership under the name, Blessings Investments. The Ltd had purchased all four units sold in 2016 for $66.5 million, now turning a decent profit.
The tower at 432 Park Avenue, situated between 56th and 57th Streets, was completed in 2015. It was designed by Rafael Viñoly, and SLCE Architects and developed by CIM Group and Harry B. Macklowe Properties. It is 1,396-feet-tall, earning it the title of sixth tallest building in the USA, and third-tallest residential building in the world. Amenities for the 125 condos in the building include a 75-foot pool, sauna, whirlpool, fitness center, golf training facilities, private screening room, library, meeting rooms and a private restaurant. Despite all this, the tower has recently been in the news for a legal battle between the developer and the condo board, over alleged construction defects. Allegations include floods, faulty elevators, noises stemming from building sway and power outages.
As per the Times, other hefty transactions that closed in May, include another apartment in the same building at 432 Park Ave. That half-floor unit on the 78th floor sold for just below $32 million. In SoHo, a duplex at 20 Greene Street sold for $35.6 million. The buyer, Eli Bronfman, an heir to the Seagram liquor business, purchased the penthouse from Sam Ben-Avraham, the founder of Liberty Fairs, which does trade shows. Also in Downtown Manhattan, a four-bedroom penthouse at Kushner Companies’ Puck Building sold for $22 million.
