Fashion magnate Tommy Hilfiger is determined to unload his Plaza Hotel penthouse. Recently, Hilfiger announced that he is slashing the price of his property by a hefty $6.05 million, bringing the 6,000-square-foot, four-bedroom apartment's price down to $68.95 million, or about $11,500 per square foot.
The property was first listed with Dolly Lenz in 2013. Back then, the asking price was a whopping $80 million or $13,333 per square foot. The following year, Hilfiger lowered the asking price to $75 million and switched from Lenz to the Corcoran Group's Marie-Claire Gladstone.
Initially, Hilfiger bought three adjacent apartments in the Plaza for $25 million back in 2008. The fashion magnate then reportedly spent an additional $20 million to combine the three units and to fully renovate the space. According to reports, he lavishly decorated it with Warhols and Basquiats from his extensive art collection.
"They have never been in a rush to sell but they said, 'It's a new year. Let's sell it this year.' They have a very active life and travel a lot so there's no point in really keeping it," Gladstone explained.
However, Hilfiger is not the first owner at the Plaza who has to lower their asking price. Since last year, condo units at the swanky Plaza Hotel have been under-performing in comparison to nearby units on the reputed "Billionaire's Row."
When the Plaza was converted into condos by Elad Properties in 2007 and 2008, the median prices were at $3,636 per square foot. At that time, units in the hotel were one of the highest condo price points in the city. However, over the past couple of years, the median prices sunk down to $4,325 a foot, compared to $6,323 at 15 Central Park West, $4,617 at One Beacon Court and $5,340 at the Time Warner Center.
"The Plaza just didn't turn out to be the great project it was supposed to be," said Jay Glazer, a broker at Compass.
