Meanwhile, a somewhat similar story plays out next door, though not for demolition...
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/business/lutnick-pierre-hotel.html
The Commerce Secretary, a Gilded Hotel and Claims of a Secret Plan
By Michael Rothfeld, Maureen Farrell and Jodi Kantor
September 16, 2025
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For nearly a century, the Pierre has stood as a symbol of opulence overlooking Central Park. Inspired by the Palace of Versailles, it was home to some of the most wealthy and powerful people in one of the most gilded ZIP codes in America.
.....The board, under the guidance of Newmark, has reached the final stages of negotiations to sell the Pierre for roughly $2 billion. The Khashoggis, a prominent Saudi family, would provide at least some of the funding for the purchase, while the Dorchester Collection, a luxury hotel company owned by the sultanate of Brunei, would most likely manage the building after an extensive renovation, two people familiar with the deal said.
If this sale happens, all of the Pierre’s residents could be forced to move out, including Michael Eisner, the former chief of Disney; Tory Burch, the fashion designer; and Shari Redstone, who recently sold her company, Paramount. Princess Firyal of Jordan also owns an apartment there.
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Mr. Lutnick, 64, is a relatively recent arrival to the Pierre, a former bond trader who bought his penthouse in 2017. He has never moved in.
Many other residents, by contrast, hail from an older generation of New York’s elite, including the producer of the film “Raging Bull” and the former chief executive of Coca-Cola. Some have poured out their anger and dismay over the building’s condition and the possible sale in reams of group emails, many of which were obtained by The New York Times.
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“I am an 84-year-old widow with no family and have just redone my apartment at great expense,” Tina Beriro, who has lived in her apartment overlooking Central Park for two decades, wrote in one message. “To find new accommodations and go through the trauma, exhaustion and money involved in a move would seriously affect my health, well-being, and finances.”
The Pierre is a rare breed of co-op. It has a mix of both permanent residents and overnight guests, who can book a room for the night or host a wedding in one of its grand ballrooms or rotunda.
Permanent residents get the same daily housekeeping, room service and other amenities as hotel guests. Over the years, glamorous figures like Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel have lived or stayed at the Pierre.
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A spokesman for Dorchester said neither the company nor the sultan had a contract to operate the Pierre, but would be interested “to have a property in New York should the right opportunity arise.” Representatives for the Khashoggis could not be reached.
In private conversations with directors around the beginning of this year, some Pierre residents were told how they might be affected by some of the contemplated changes.
In one possible scenario, revealed by Mr. Stern and Mr. Johnson in a letter to residents in March, the “potential operator,” whom they did not name, might concentrate hotel rooms on lower floors and try to relocate residents to upper floors, after extensive renovations.
The directors did not yet acknowledge another scenario that residents were beginning to fear: a purchase of the whole building, requiring them to move out for good.
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In late July, the Pierre’s board called an emergency meeting on Zoom. They offered few specifics, but directors and consultants made the case for a sale, portraying the building’s condition as dire. Restoring it could be astronomically expensive, they said, requiring people to move out for a time anyway.
With none of the residents muted, the call quickly devolved into a morass of heated questions, speeches and interruptions, three people who attended said.
Lois Chiles, 78, a model and actress who became famous in the 1970s, lamented about renovations she had done without knowing she might have to leave.
Tory Burch, 59, the fashion executive, spoke of how much she loved her apartment, whose velvet walls and autumn-hued living room she showed off in a British Vogue spread.
As Mr. Eisner pleaded with others to wait for an actual proposal, people talked over him.
At Wednesday’s co-op meeting, shareholders are expected to hear a presentation about the proposal to sell.
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So many soap operas playing out across New York real estate. But maybe when they see the details of the proposed "sexiest condo building in New York" across the street, some would be open to moving.
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NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
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