A hedge fund manager has found a buyer for his “Temple of Zen” on New York’s Billionaire’s Avenue — after slashing a whopping $43 million off its asking price.
The 800-square-foot apartment was created for Japanese art enthusiast Mitch Julis, complete with a 60-year-old bonsai tree and a tea room in the iconic 430-foot tower at 432 Park Avenue.
Home to stars like Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, the 88-story “super-slim” tower was besieged with complaints from oligarchs dissatisfied with flooding, creaking walls and malfunctioning elevators.
Julis, who works for Canyon Capital Advisors, originally listed the five-bedroom house on the 79th floor for sale in September 2021 for $135 million.
But the $92 million sale reported by streeteasy.com would still be one of the biggest of the year and would give Julis a profit on the $59 million he paid in 2016.
An apartment in the skinny tower at 432 Park Avenue sold for $92 million after the owner deducted $43 million from the asking price
The 800-square-foot apartment was created for Japanese art enthusiast Mitch Julis in the 88-story tower
432 Park Avenue is one of a new breed of super-tall, super-slim skyscrapers that have sprung up on small lots in Manhattan in recent years
The buyer has not been disclosed.
“This serene, full-floor abode offers 8,055 square feet of living space, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, two powder rooms, a home office, den, and a Sugimoto-designed tea room, with unobstructed views of 50 miles in every direction,” the sales pitch explained. .
It is decorated with cedar shutters, Shikkui plaster walls, two private elevators, 3×3 meter windows and a traditional Japanese tea room with kneeling mats.
The house also has two storage rooms and two adjoining studio apartments.
The main apartment has a bright interior with white painted walls and white furniture. The wooden floor and light brown accents add to the Japanese Zen feel of the home.
The home also features large windows that provide breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline. That includes unobstructed light lines to Central Park and the Empire State Building.
The kitchen is equipped with several sinks and dishwashers. The island faces south and offers a beautiful view of Lower Manhattan
The house features a Sugimoto-designed tea room as one of the many hallmarks of it being a ‘Temple of Zen’
There are unobstructed views of 50 miles in all directions, giving owner views of Central Park and Lower Manhattan
Julis (pictured), who works for Canyon Capital Advisors, originally listed the 79th-floor, five-bedroom home for $135 million in September 2021
The kitchen is equipped with several sinks and dishwashers. The island faces south and offers a beautiful view of Lower Manhattan. The stainless steel series was custom made and had to be mounted in the unit due to its size.
The first bedroom is a suite with a bathroom and bathtub overlooking Central Park as you soak.
A huge bedroom overlooks both Billionaires Avenue and Central Park. It features chestnut floors and awnings that block the view of the city while still letting in sunlight.
However, not everyone is impressed. Some on TikTok suggest the “bedrooms give Swedish prison vibes,” and another wonders “what a brown leather recliner is doing next to the toilet in the first bathroom.”
The apartment is located in a tower that is part of New York City’s so-called ‘Billionaires Avenue’
A 60 year old bonsai tree is one of the many features of the unique apartment
The buyer will have access to five bedrooms and five bathrooms in the home. There are also two adjoining studio apartments
Not everyone is impressed, though, with some on TikTok suggesting the ‘bedrooms give off Swedish prison vibes’
Opened in 2013, the 1,396-foot Rafael Viñoly-designed tower was the second tallest skyscraper in New York City, after One World Trade Center, when it was completed in 2015.
But it was described by some as resembling the “tallest Wordle sign in the world,” and residents of the upper floors were alarmed by it swaying in the wind.
The condominium board is suing the CIM Group, which developed the building for $230 million, claiming the issue has affected cables, plumbing and elevators.
Water from two spills poured into elevator shafts in 2018, putting two of the four residential elevators out of service for weeks and damaging 35 apartments, the indictment alleges.
It adds that the building is plagued by “horrible and intrusive noises and vibrations,” while throwing rubbish into the landfill sounds like a “bomb” exploding.
Julis also owns a $21 million home on North Hillcrest Road in the Hollywood Hills, and realtors Engel & Völkers describe his New York apartment as “among the clouds 1,000 feet up.”
432 Park Avenue is one of several residential skyscrapers located on Billionaires’ Row – a cluster of high-value multi-billion dollar developments on or near West 57th Street and overlooking Central Park
Saudi magnate Fawaz Al Hokair is struggling to sell his penthouse apartment in what was once the tallest residential skyscraper in the world
Famous celebrities who have purchased properties at 432 Park Avenue include Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez (seen above in New York in 2018). The two purchased a 4,000-square-foot unit for $15.3 million in 2018, but sold it the following year for $17.5 million.
“Residents of 432 Park Avenue enjoy 30,000 square feet of amenities, including a lounge and a private restaurant overseen by Michelin-starred chef Sean Hergatt,” she adds.
“A 23-foot indoor pool, fitness center and spa with sauna, steam and massage rooms, library, billiards room, film and performance venue, conference room, children’s playroom and yoga studio.”
But Saudi retail mogul Fawaz Al Hokair is still looking for a buyer for his penthouse apartment, despite deducting $39 million from its original asking price of $169 million in May.
No one has even spent the night in the top-floor apartment with a 100-foot-long great room he bought for $87 million in 2016.