Miramax co-chairman Bob Weinstein is looking to cash out of East 66th Street-less than two years after moving in. The independent-film entrepreneur recently listed his grand duplex co-op at 131 East 66th Street for $5.9 million.
Mr. Weinstein is making the move because he has found a new home on Central Park West. As New York magazine's Intelligencer reported this week, Mr. Weinstein is purchasing a tower apartment at the Beresfordfor $12.75 million. A spokesperson for Mr. Weinstein confirmed the purchase, but declined to comment on the price.
For several decades, until about 12 years ago, the 4,500-square-foot apartment at 131 East 66th Street belonged to the Rothschild family. Mr. Weinstein made his purchase in December 2001 for $5.25 million.
The 10th- and 11th-floor apartment has five bedrooms and five baths, a double-height living room with lavishly detailed tapestry walls, a formal dining room, multiple wood-burning fireplaces and an entire unit on the first floor envisioned specifically for maid's quarters.
The co-op board at 131 East 66th, located at the corner of Lexington Avenue, is generally considered to be among the most exclusive in the city. Several years ago, the board rejected fashion designer Carolyne Roehm. One broker told The Observer in 2001 that Ms. Roehm, who wrote a monthly column in House Beautiful , was too high-profile.
Perhaps that's why Mr. Weinstein made it past the board without any major snags. Unlike his more outspoken brother, Harvey, Bob Weinstein prefers a low profile and goes out of his way to shun publicity. His broker at Stribling and Associates declined to comment on either sale.
MAYA ANGELOU FLIES WEST END COOP
Now that poet laureate Maya Angelou is settling into her new townhouse on West 120th Street, she apparently has no need for the West End Avenue co-op that she's been renting for the last five years or so. So, earlier this month, the owner of Ms. Angelou's two-bedroom rental unit at 473 West End Avenue put the apartment up for sale for $1.25 million.
Ms. Angelou was apparently an honored guest at the building. While most cooperatives don't allow renters to stay on at the building for longer than two years, the co-op board at 473 West End made an exception in her case.
"They allowed her to stay because of her stature," said a source close to the deal. A representative for the building's managing agent, Melohn Properties, said decisions like that are made by the board on a case-by-case basis.
Ms. Angelou's old leased apartment is a 1,700-square-foot unit with three exposures, an eat-in kitchen and formal dining room. Listing broker Maddy Tyree of Douglas Elliman declined to comment. Her new home in Harlem is a much grander affair. During the spring of 2002, Ms. Angelou paid $435,000 for the 19-foot-wide townhouse that was then little more than a hollow shell. She spent most of the next year renovating it, and just finished earlier this summer. Ms. Angelou showcased her work on the cover of the Aug. 7 edition of the New York Times House and Home section. Ms. Angelou also owns another townhouse on East 129th Street that she bought in November of 2001 for $275,000 and which, sources tell The Observer , she now rents out.
THE MAN WHO BOUGHT ELLIMAN FOR $80 M. LISTS FIVE ROOMS AT SHERRY FOR $4.85
UPPER EAST SIDE
Real-estate investor Howard Lorber has put his tower apartment at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on the market for $4.85 million. Mr. Lorber's personal divestment comes on the heels of what was perhaps the largest investment of his professional career. Mr. Lorber is the president and chief operating officer of New Valley Corporation, which owned 50 percent of Prudential Long Island Realty when Prudential purchased Douglas Elliman. The $80 million deal, with Prudential's Dottie Herman at the helm, created the largest residential brokerage company in the New York metropolitan area.
As you might expect, Mr. Lorber has employed the services of the newly created Prudential Douglas Elliman to market his tower apartment.
The Sherry-Netherland, located at 781 Fifth Avenue at the corner of 59th Street, is one of the city's most storied residential buildings. Mr. Lorber's unit sits on the tower's 17th floor, and he just completed a major renovation of the apartment in a traditional style. The five-room co-op has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and offers sweeping views of Central Park. Mr. Lorber was traveling and unavailable for comment. Listing broker Dolly Lenz of Prudential Douglas Elliman declined to comment.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET
UPPER EAST SIDE
538 East 84th Street
Two-bedroom, two-bathroom co-op and studio.
Asking: $800,000. Selling: $782,500.
Maintenance: $1,609; 67 percent tax-deductible.
Time on the market: four days.
DOWNTOWN GIRL The single mom who just sold this apartment runs an advertising company, and the majority of her clients ran businesses in the mall underneath the World Trade Center. When the Sept. 11 attack almost completely wiped out her business, rather than flee the city in response, she embraced the neighborhood and is currently renting an apartment in lower Manhattan. The apartment she left behind on the Upper East Side was originally two studios and a one-bedroom. She combined one of the studios and the one-bedroom unit to make a 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom unit. The other studio unit-which she bought along with the other two-was, and still is, occupied by a gentleman in his 80's. He's still working as a journalist at a Long Island news organization, and sales agent Debra Hoffman of the Corcoran Group said she spotted a Pulitzer Prize on the gentleman's desk. It was apparently a group award, of which he was a part. The journo has no intention of moving out any time soon, but that's no problem for the contractor who bought the two-bedroom and studio package. He's a single guy and doesn't mind waiting a long time for a vacancy before he combines the units into a 1,700-square-foot spread. The first-floor apartments open out onto a private 1,200-square-foot garden, and the two-bedroom unit has 11-foot ceilings, a designer cook's kitchen, new custom lighting and custom shelving. The new buyer is currently installing a Koi pond in the backyard, which he will fill with large goldfish. Sharon Held of the Corcoran Group represented the buyer.
GRAMERCY
230 East 18th Street
One-bedroom, one-bathroom co-op.
Asking: $639,000. Selling: $630,000.
Maintenance: $455; 50 percent tax-deductible.
Time on the market: one week.
THE MAJORS Elyse Pasquale, 27, designs Web pages for an eclectic bunch of rockers like Kate Pierson of the B-52's and David Bowie's bassist, Gail Ann Dorsey. For the last few years, the stylish designer has been living in the funky East Village, on Third Street between Avenues B and C, but she recently decided to go a little more mainstream with her living accommodations. "She wanted a little less indie-rock and little more major-label," said Douglas Wagner, president of Benjamin James Real Estate, which represented Ms. Pasquale. Ms. Pasquale now finds herself the owner of this 1,000-square-foot triplex unit, whose previous owner-for some 30 years-was an empty-nest mother. She had given the first-floor kitchen area a high-end makeover, with custom cabinets and Sub-Zero appliances; the second-floor living room area has custom-made shelves; and the third-floor bedroom has a bathroom with Spanish tiles. Makeba Lloyd of Benjamin James represented Ms. Pasquale on the deal.
GREENWICH VILLAGE
2 Horatio Street
One-bedroom, one-bathroom co-op.
Asking: $545,000. Selling: $525,000.
Maintenance: $1,037; 57 percent tax-deductible.
Time on the market: three months.
From the Hip Most sellers leave the marketing of their apartments to the professionals. But the last owner of this Horatio Street co-op, an artistic-minded woman, decided to pitch in herself, and her marketing savvy snagged a fellow art connoisseur as a buyer. The seller, a single woman who was until recently a vice president at the former AOL Time Warner, thought the best way to showcase her apartment would be to highlight its backyard garden and its location in the heart of the West Village. Accordingly, at her open house she put out pieces of chocolate from Chocolate Bar, a neighborhood sweets store; she put out local maps to show the apartment's proximity to nearby galleries and points of interest; and she brought in fresh flowers to ring her unit's interior. "People were buying the idea of the apartment," said exclusive agent Sandra Balan of Douglas Elliman. "It was almost like Alice in Wonderland , falling through the door and getting caught up." The winning bid on the apartment went to a woman who works for a downtown art gallery. "She instinctively fell in love with the apartment," said Ms. Balan. "The way the seller had decorated, it was total West Village–hip cool."