NYC's $100m penthouse for sale

Actor Robert De Niro’s son Raphael is the agent for this opulent €80.9m penthouse on the top floor of a New York skyscraper

A PENTHOUSE flat on the top floor of one of New York’s tallest skyscrapers has a price tag of $100 million (€80.9 million), which, if it achieves this figure, would make it America’s most expensive apartment. However it remains to be seen if it will reach the elusive $100 million barrier.

The 743sq m (8,000sq ft) octagonal-shaped apartment in midtown Manhattan is being sold by estate agent Raphael De Niro, who is actor Robert De Niro’s son. Spread over three floors at the top of CitySpire, currently New York’s highest mixed-use building, it represents luxury on a grand scale, with six bedrooms, a 278sq m (3,000sq ft) terrace, a marble foyer and a wine cellar.

Currently owned by property developer Steven Klar, it has appreciated in value somewhat since he bought it in 1993 for $4.5 million, and spent the same amount again furnishing it with chandeliers, columns and antique furniture, according to the New York Times.

It appears that high-end property in New York, where Brazilians, Chinese and Russian buyers are willing to pay top dollar, hasn’t been affected too much by the global downturn.

In May, a record was set in New York when a mystery buyer agreed to pay more than €90 million for a duplex in One57, a midtown apartment tower still under construction.

The buyer, who declined to be named, bought the 10,923sq ft penthouse on the 89th and 90th floors of the building on West 57th Street.

The penthouse at CitySpire is a little smaller and on a less stratospheric floor but it comes with a separate guest or staff apartment on the 72nd floor, which can be accessed via a service entrance. A formal gallery, conference room and elegant private study with en suite bathroom complete this level.

There’s also an eat-in chef’s kitchen with butler’s pantry, large media room and a diningroom that seats more than 20 people.

The wrap-around terrace on the 76th floor allows the owner to take in the panoramic views of the city, unless of course cloud cover is spoiling the view.

As well as a 24-hour doorman/concierge and a live-in resident manager, the building has a fitness centre with a 50ft pool, a playroom and a garage.

Raphael De Niro, who currently holds the record for the highest yield price per sq ft, is the MD of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

His website says the De Niro name “has been synonymous with Real Estate for three generations which has included some of SoHo’s very first warehouse-to-residential conversions in the 1960s and 70s”.

...AND SOME PRETTY, PRICEY ALTERNATIVES

The most expensive apartment in Ireland

Believed to be the apartment with the highest asking price in Ireland, a two-bed penthouse in the Four Seasons hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, is asking €900,000 through James Galvin Property and Estates.

The penthouse – there are 18 top- floor apartments at the Four Seasons – comes with gym membership, full concierge service and private underground parking, although the service charge is a hefty €22,000pa. According to James Galvin, who sold an apartment there four months ago for €870,000, a lot of the interest so far is from ex-pats.

As well as two double bedrooms, both with very large ensuite bathrooms, there’s a large living/diningroom, and a separate kitchen fitted with “the highest standard of appliances available”, says the agent.

The most expensive apartment in London

A five-bed flat at One Hyde Park, nicknamed “the Billionaire’s block”, is currently the most expensive in London. Estate agents Aylsford Co are asking £65 million (€82.7 million) and say there are bids on the table at €60 million.

The apartment is 836sq m (9,000sq ft), with six bathrooms and three extensive reception areas, and is divided into two wings.

The bedroom suites are in the city wing, and all the living and entertaining spaces are in the park wing.

Two other apartments in the block were sold for a combined £136 million (€173 million) to a Ukrainian tycoon, Rinat Akhmetov, who is thought to be spending a further £50 million (€63 million) to knock the properties together.

Property developer Ray Grehan had a €5.6 million (€7.1 million) apartment at one Hyde Park, which Nama secured a court order to prevent him selling.

The most expensive one-bed apartment in the world

This one-bed apartment spreads over more than 4,430sq ft of a condominium building in the upmarket Minami-Azabu district of west Tokyo. It’s being sold by Japan Sotheby’s International Realty for £14.72 million (€18.73 million), roughly £3,320.33 (€4,224) per square foot.

The owner of the penthouse apartment – whom Sotheby’s have identified only as “a successful businessman” – spent 18 months refurbishing the property using stone and wood imported from Italy for the walls, flooring and doors. A Japanese, ryotei-style diningroom is designed for dinner parties where the chef can serve guests directly from the kitchen.

A separate “casual” dining room has a Parisian-style terrace overlooking the neighbouring park. The bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe, the bathroom has a hot-tub and a 60in television, but the real focal point is the courtyard.