The 432 Park Avenue building (center).
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Wealthy homeowners want out of an ultra-luxe building on Manhattan’s “Billionaire’s Row.”They’re even selling their units at a loss, the Wall Street Journal reported.The condo board sued the building’s developers in 2021, alleging 1,500 construction and design defects.
An ultra-luxe “Billionaire’s Row” residential tower has been mired in a lengthy legal dispute, and some owners are now fleeing the building, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The condominium board at 432 Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan — once the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere — first sued the building’s developers in 2021.
In their lawsuit, the board argues that the alleged mismanagement at the 96-story, 125-unit skyscraper was “one of the worst examples” of developer malfeasance “in the history of New York City.”
Their suit alleges that the building is riddled with more than 1,500 “construction and design defects,” such as repeated elevator breakdowns, leaks, floods, and obtrusive noise and vibrations caused by the developer’s “failure to properly design” the building to account for its height.
They argue that the developer’s response to those flaws has been “equally atrocious.”
The developers have denied most of the board’s allegations, and in the years since the initial lawsuit, the battle has intensified, with more than 4 million pages of documents filed in court, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Now, a number of wealthy owners in the building want out — even if it means selling their units at a loss, the WSJ reported.
Eighteen units in 432 Park, totaling 14% of the building’s total units, were listed for sale as of mid-May, the Wall Street Journal analysis found, citing data from StreetEasy.
As of Thursday, 16 units were still listed for sale on StreetEasy, 13 of which are selling for less than they had in previous years, according to their StreetEasy price history. The price of one of the units currently for sale has been reduced by nearly 18% in the last year, StreetEasy data shows.
The building’s six-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 8,255-square-foot penthouse apartment was on sale for $169 million in 2022; now, it’s listed for just $105 million, a 38% reduction.
Since the legal dispute became public in 2021, eleven sales have closed in the building. Those units sold for 3.7% less, on average, than what the sellers originally paid and, for those listed publicly, at a 27.4% discount from the highest asking price, according to the WSJ.
Lawyers for the building’s developers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, nor did the building’s press representative. Lawyers for the building’s board also did not respond.
