NY nesting News

Rapper, singer, record producer and politician Wyclef Jean is going to add another profession to his long list of successful careers...lounge owner. Yesterday, Jean announced at a radio interview that he’s planning to open a brand new restaurant and lounge in NYC. He said at the interview:

Andrea Soros Colombel, daughter of the currency speculator, investor, and philanthropist/activist George Soros, listed her 21-room, 26’ wide Greenwich Village Townhouse at 10 West 10th Street for $29.5 million yesterday.

Andrea, founder of the Trace Foundation, purchased the four-story home in 2006 for $11.5 million and invested a lot of time, energy and money into renovating it, and the result is quite impressive.

It is now official; Michael Hirtenstein is out of New York’s hottest new construction – One57. Gary Barnett has returned Michael Hirtenstein’s contract and deposit. The New York property investor Michael Hirtenstein was in contract to buy a unit for $16 million, and he was treated like any other buyer, which means, that he wasn’t allowed to see the unit before completion.

It looks like 15-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys wants to celebrate her upcoming fifth studio album ‘Girl on Fire’ with a new multi million dollar mansion purchase. Alicia is in contract to buy Eddie Murphy’s New Jersey estate, named Bubble Hill, for $12 million.

Bubble Hill was put on the market seven years ago with an initial price tag of $30 million. Renovations were done in 2009 to make the estate more attractive for buyers, but with little to no success. Eddie Murphy had to drastically slash the listing price by $15 million in 2009.

The management at 120 Riverside Boulevard has been quietly replaced with AKAM Living Service as Trump’s contract had expired. Trump has been ousted as manager and residents are quite unhappy about how the change of power took place.

According to residents of the building, no one residing there was consulted, and they were disappointed that a white glove building like the Trump Place didn’t show any transparency in the switch of management.

The Luxury Condominium The Aldyn, located at 60 Riverside Boulevard, has sold a pad for $13.7 million – a record for the building. The buyer is Cheryl Mercuris, a millionaire entrepreneur, who has received media attention by spending a half million dollars for a two-week summer rental in the Hamptons. Cheryl is founder and owner of the Florida-based marketing company Quality Resources and is known for being out on the prowl meeting and dating new men.

The buyer of the Upper East Side’s Rothschild Mansion at has been revealed today. Steel magnate, Leroy Schecter, 85, has purchased the townhouse for $25 million, according to The Post. Mr. Schecter is chairman of steelmaker Marino/Ware Industries and is also the owner of the recently listed $95 million 15 Central Park West apartment.

The most expensive zip code in the United States is 10065, according to Forbes. The area runs from 60th Street to 69th, from Fifth Avenue all the way to the East River.

There it is – the first price cut for Steve Ells townhouse at 92 Jane Street. Purchased in 2008 for $13.4 million, Steve tried to sell it for $16.5 million – making a $3.1 million profit in just four years. The new price is $14.9 million, leaving Steve with a profit of barely $1.5 million if it sells at the new asking price. That's still a lot of money as most of us would do anything to make $1.5 million on a 4 year investment.

Another celebrity has left the Upper West Side's El Dorado Condo building. This time it is U2’s bassist Adam Clayton, who has listed his El Dorado apartment for $8.695 million. The 7.5-room, 3 bedroom and 4 bathroom pre-war pad allows 50% financing and has very nice Eastern and Southern views of Central Park. It has two deco fireplaces and a huge eat-in chef’s kitchen.

Former New York Yankee and current Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, Bobby Abreu sold his NYC apartment inside One Beacon Court in February 2010 for $5.1 million. The new owner has now re-listed the apartment for $7.45 million. That’s almost the original asking price that Abreu listed his condo for in 2008, which he wasn’t able to get back than due to the financial crisis.

The financial crisis that destroyed anything and everything in its path included 56 Leonard Street. The result was a delay of nearly 4 years with the foundation having been set three years ago and with no work being done since. The wait is over and the construction work is expected to begin next week on the innovatively designed building. Being developed by Alexico and designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the building endured a good amount of criticism.

It almost feels surreal to keep reporting positive news about SPURA, after five decades of discussions, negotiations and disagreements. The City Council has approved the redevelopment plan for the area in Manhattan’s Lower East Side totaling a span of 1.65 million square feet. Next, the city will call on developers for proposals. The best proposal will be selected by the city with help of the community board.

Def Jam founder, Russell Simmons, has recently taken his Duplex Penthouse temporarily off the market. The apartment, brokered by Deborah Grubman of The Corcoran Group, hit the market in September 2012 for $11 million. It’s not the first time this apartment has disappeared from listings. It was also listed in 2005 for the same sum of $11 million. The apartment is located at 114 Liberty Street in Manhattan’s Financial District.

Many units at the Trump Soho have received drastic price cuts of approx 30%. Prudential Douglas Elliman and Prodigy International, who co-exclusively market the building, declined to comment on the strong price cut today. Elliman joined Prodigy last year, as sales didn’t meet expectations for the luxury building. For instance, a one-bedroom unit cost $1.78 million ($2,406 per square foot) and now it costs $1.27 million ($1,714 per square foot).