Back in 2006 when property prices were on the rise and economic optimism was in the air, investor J. Christopher Flowers purchased a luxury mansion in Manhattan for $53 million. The property in question was the Harkness Mansion, a mega-mansion that stands on 4 East 75th Street. Back then, the $53 million that Flowers paid for the building was a record-breaking sum that grabbed real estate headlines across New York.
But the real estate market is no longer in a happy state. It is still struggling to shake off the negative impact of the global economic recession. So even the most expensive mega-mansion in Manhattan was sold at a big loss. According to reports, this mega-mansion Flowers has agreed to sell the property at $36.5 million. That would be a total loss of $16.5 million, given that Flowers spent $4 million just gutting the place.
Apparently, Flowers has been trying to sell the 20,000-square-foot townhouse for a while now. Initially, he was willing to sell the New York mansion for $50 million. But at the time, all the offers he kept getting were in the $40 million to $45 million range. So what made him settle for lesser still? Certainly not a dire need for money. Apparently, his ongoing divorce convinced him to make the break from the beautiful house.
The proud new owner is art dealer and gallery owner Larry Gagosian. He may have bought the house for a bargain price. But Gagosian should be prepared to shell out plenty on renovations for this Manhattan mega-mansion.
Via: New York Post, Curbed
