noharmony
December 13th, 2001, 12:00 PM
New York Post (http://www.nypost.com)
VIVENDI, ORACLE HONCHOS LAND AT NEW RITZ
By BRADEN KEIL
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December 13, 2001 -- Gimme Shelter
APARTMENT buyers at the new Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South are apparently unaware of a recession.
Eight of the 11 ultra-priced condos nearing completion in the city's most expensive condominium building at 50 CPS have closed this week. The cheapest (or least-expensive, in this case) unit is going for $16 million, while the priciest is closer to $50 million.
In all, a total of approximately $203.5 million worth of checks were signed on Tuesday, after some of the buyers waited almost a year-and-a-half to take their walk-through. The pricey units occupy the top 12 floors of the new 300-room, 35-story Ritz-Carlton hotel, developed by Millennium Partners. Hotelier Ian Schrager first bought the former St. Moritz hotel, then sold the project to the Millennium group in November 1999.
Originally slated for 14 condominium units, the number of apartments was reconfigured to 11 larger units ranging from under 5,000 square feet to more than 10,000.
The condos will have Ritz-Carlton hotel services, including room service. Many of the units include beamed ceilings and terraces overlooking Central Park. Sources say the buyers will be spending millions more to decorate the raw spaces in grand style.
"Some are putting more in than they paid, if you can imagine that," says an interior designer familiar with the building.
Those picking up keys to their lofty lairs include:
* Vivendi Universal, whose free-spending Chairman Jean-Marie Messier is said to have paid $18 million for a place on the 32nd floor measuring 4,645 square feet.
Messier already has a new duplex at 515 Park Ave. His reps claimed they were not aware of this particular purchase.
* Jones New York founder Sidney Kimmel shelled out $23.5 million for his slice of heaven on floor 27. The interior measures 6,829 square feet, with a 1,374-square-foot terrace.
* Larry Ellison, the CEO of software giant Oracle, was one of the first to download a down payment for his $19 million condo - 5,000 square feet on the top floors (34-35). He also gets to hang with the pigeons on his 689-foot rooftop deck.
* Mitchell Rales of the Danaher Corp. took an 8,192-square-foot space with a 1,324-foot terrace for $26 million on the 25th floor.
* Chris Jeffries, the chief of Millennium Partners, the building's developer, has taken the space on 30-31 that included the St. Moritz' ballroom. The pad, with a combined 10,882 square feet and original price approaching $50 million, has double-height ceilings and an 800-foot terrace. "It is one of the grandest spaces I've ever seen," said one broker.
For those who might feel left out, there's good news - three apartments are still available. Floor 26, which has an unsigned contract pending, can still be snagged for $25 million, floor 28 for $22 mil and the 29th floor for $23.5 million.
VIVENDI, ORACLE HONCHOS LAND AT NEW RITZ
By BRADEN KEIL
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 13, 2001 -- Gimme Shelter
APARTMENT buyers at the new Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South are apparently unaware of a recession.
Eight of the 11 ultra-priced condos nearing completion in the city's most expensive condominium building at 50 CPS have closed this week. The cheapest (or least-expensive, in this case) unit is going for $16 million, while the priciest is closer to $50 million.
In all, a total of approximately $203.5 million worth of checks were signed on Tuesday, after some of the buyers waited almost a year-and-a-half to take their walk-through. The pricey units occupy the top 12 floors of the new 300-room, 35-story Ritz-Carlton hotel, developed by Millennium Partners. Hotelier Ian Schrager first bought the former St. Moritz hotel, then sold the project to the Millennium group in November 1999.
Originally slated for 14 condominium units, the number of apartments was reconfigured to 11 larger units ranging from under 5,000 square feet to more than 10,000.
The condos will have Ritz-Carlton hotel services, including room service. Many of the units include beamed ceilings and terraces overlooking Central Park. Sources say the buyers will be spending millions more to decorate the raw spaces in grand style.
"Some are putting more in than they paid, if you can imagine that," says an interior designer familiar with the building.
Those picking up keys to their lofty lairs include:
* Vivendi Universal, whose free-spending Chairman Jean-Marie Messier is said to have paid $18 million for a place on the 32nd floor measuring 4,645 square feet.
Messier already has a new duplex at 515 Park Ave. His reps claimed they were not aware of this particular purchase.
* Jones New York founder Sidney Kimmel shelled out $23.5 million for his slice of heaven on floor 27. The interior measures 6,829 square feet, with a 1,374-square-foot terrace.
* Larry Ellison, the CEO of software giant Oracle, was one of the first to download a down payment for his $19 million condo - 5,000 square feet on the top floors (34-35). He also gets to hang with the pigeons on his 689-foot rooftop deck.
* Mitchell Rales of the Danaher Corp. took an 8,192-square-foot space with a 1,324-foot terrace for $26 million on the 25th floor.
* Chris Jeffries, the chief of Millennium Partners, the building's developer, has taken the space on 30-31 that included the St. Moritz' ballroom. The pad, with a combined 10,882 square feet and original price approaching $50 million, has double-height ceilings and an 800-foot terrace. "It is one of the grandest spaces I've ever seen," said one broker.
For those who might feel left out, there's good news - three apartments are still available. Floor 26, which has an unsigned contract pending, can still be snagged for $25 million, floor 28 for $22 mil and the 29th floor for $23.5 million.