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Wealthy Buyers Are Snapping Up Luxury Apartments In One Of New York’S Best Kept Secrets

Wealthy Buyers Are Snapping Up Luxury Apartments In One Of New York’S Best Kept Secrets

Sometimes less is more. Case in point, the deluxe 520 Park Ave. No, the developer (Zeckendorf) and architect (Robert A.M. Stern) didn’t scrimp on the building itself, but the residence’s PR firm is keeping mum about recent sales, particularly who has been shelling out over $20 million for the condos inside. If there were any fears about the luxury market hitting the breaks, information leaked to the NY Post proves that the right building will find buyers. With each reported sale the hype about 520 Park Ave increases, apparently without any PR magic.

Fitting then that the latest 520 resident to be outed by the Post is PR big wig Ronn Torossian, who is in contract to buy a full-floor home at the 62-story, 33 unit building. Torossian is the founder of 5WPR. His clients include Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Bush. SteetEasy data shows that a 4,613 ft2, full floor apartment is listed at $20.5 million.

Elevator rides at 520 Park Avenue are guaranteed to never be dull as a slew of well-known business heavyweights have taken up residence. In August, Frank Fertitta, whose mixed martial arts company Ultimate Fighting Championship was sold to an investment group for $4 billion in 2016, splurged on a $70 million penthouse.

The developer has been cleaning up in more ways than one. James Dyson – the billionaire appliance wiz – recently laid out big bucks (in the $73 million to $83 million range) for a penthouse, while fellow Brit Bob Diamond purchased a simplex for around $20 to 40 million.

Architect Stern, whose company is called RAMSA, is credited with keeping old school glamor in New York. In the face of dozens of gleaming glass fronted buildings taking to the sky, Stern clads his in limestone. It’s expensive but timeless.

“[Limestone buildings] take the light in a beautiful way, and they look solid. They don’t look like buildings you can open with a can opener,” Stern told the Commercial Observer in 2016.

His buildings boast more celebrities than the Met Gala, or so it seems. One of his most recent is the nearly-finished 70 Vestry. Located in Tribeca, early buyers include power couple Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

Another of his buildings, 15 Central Park West, has been labeled the most powerful residence in the world. Filled with celebs and Wall Street high rollers – ranging from Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein to entertainers like Sting and Denzel Washington – the building is never out of the news with high priced comings and goings. Though it took three years and $1 billion to construct, it quickly rang up $2 billion in sales.

Stern’s star is hotter than ever. Despite being in the middle of a downward trending market, his buildings continue to increase in value and desirability. Mansion Global recently reported that the penthouse at the top of 20 East End Avenue is on the market at $39.5 million, a $4.5 million increase from when last listed in 2015.

Stern, whose company builds globally, is famously quoted as saying:

“The dialogue between client and architect is about as intimate as any conversation you can have, because when you’re talking about building a house, you’re talking about dreams.”