An even deeper price cut came in last month’s second-biggest closed transaction: a foreclosure sale at One57, the vitreous skyscraper that holds the record ($100.4 million) for the highest price paid for a single New York residence. This 6,240-square-foot penthouse encompassing the 79th floor at 157 West 57th Street closed at $36.66 million — $14.26 million less than what it had sold for in early 2015. The apartment had been owned by Nigerian businessman accused of money laundering.
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Andrea Mohin/The New York Times
There were other noteworthy transactions in November. In the Turtle Bay neighborhood, Kevin M. Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, bought a townhouse, while the chief executive of Weight Watchers International, Mindy Grossman, and her husband, Neil Grossman, acquired a brand-new condo.
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Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
Also, the estate of Barbara Goldsmith, an author and founding editor of New York magazine, sold her Park Avenue co-op. In the West Village, the actor Topher Grace, who appeared on “That ‘70s Show,” sold an apartment, and Michael Symon, a Food Network chef, and his wife, Elizabeth, sold their townhouse.
THE RAW PENTHOUSE at 551 West 21st Street was acquired through the limited liability company 551 Chelsea. Erin Boisson Aries, of Brown Harris Stevens, was the listing broker. Monthly carrying costs for the apartment total $27,295.
The 44-unit, concrete-and-glass building is in the heart of Chelsea’s art district, near 11th Avenue, and about a block from the High Line. Developed by SR Capital, the structure was designed by Mr. Foster’s architectural firm, Foster + Partners, and Beyer Blinder Belle.
The high-rise has a private porte cochere and a lobby with a double-height ceiling. The building also has a host of luxury amenities, including a fitness center, spa, yoga room, children’s playroom and concierge services.
THE BANK AUCTION for the 79th-floor penthouse at One57, following a mortgage default, was the largest involving a single residence in New York, according to the real estate data firm Property Shark, which keeps track of foreclosures in the city. The auction was originally scheduled for July, but postponed to early November. The lien amount on the property, Property Shark said, was $28.72 million, plus interest and costs. The apartment’s monthly carrying costs are $15,169.
According to property records, the sale of the condo, which has four bedrooms and four and a half baths, closed in mid-November. The new owner’s identity was shielded by the limited liability company S7AL.
The apartment was first purchased in January 2015 for $50.92 million by Kolawole Akanni Aluko, a Nigerian businessman, under the entity One57 79 Inc. (The unit was re-listed briefly in the spring of 2015 for $57 million.) Property records show that a mortgage for $35.34 million was taken out by the company with Banque Havilland of Luxembourg.
Mr. Aluko has been accused by the United States Department of Justice of bribery and money laundering, and last summer the agency filed a civil suit seeking to recover assets he held, including the penthouse and a yacht valued at $80 million.
THE SALES IN TURTLE BAY included a five-story, 19-foot-wide townhouse at 236 East 49th Street, in the Turtle Bay Gardens Historic District. It was bought for $8.25 million by Mr. Rudd, who twice served as the Australian prime minister, from 2007 to 2010 and in 2013.
The house has 5,690 square feet with five bedrooms, four full and two half baths, along with 1,000 square feet of outdoor space that includes a south-facing garden, two terraces and a balcony. The full-floor master suite on the third story features a large bath with a connected dressing room.
The condo acquired by Ms. Grossman and her husband is unit No. 29A at 50 United Nations Plaza, another new development designed by Mr. Foster. The closing price was $5.65 million; it was listed for $6.8 million. The 2,609-square-foot condo has three bedrooms and three baths, with views of the East River and United Nations. Ms. Grossman, formerly the chief executive of the Home Shopping Network, took over the helm of Weight Watchers earlier this year.
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Rise Media
THE ESTATE OF MS. GOLDSMITH, who died in 2016 at 85, sold her co-op at 550 Park Avenue, at East 62nd Street, for $15 million. The unit, No. 17E, has four bedrooms and three and a half baths, along with an office, library and large eat-in kitchen.
Ms. Goldsmith was the author of several books, including “Little Gloria … Happy at Last,” about the bitter 1934 custody battle over Gloria Vanderbilt.
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Donna Dotan Photography
IN THE WEST VILLAGE, Mr. Grace, the actor, whose full name is Christopher John Grace, sold unit No. 4 at 59 Bank Street, a boutique condominium. The price was $4.2 million. The apartment has two bedrooms and two and a half baths over 1,858 square feet.
Mr. Symon, who has appeared regularly on several Food Network shows, and his wife sold their townhouse at 58 Downing Street for $5.43 million. The three-story red brick building has three bedrooms and three baths.
AND AS A FOOT NOTE: Jonathan Newhouse, the chief executive of the media giant Condé Nast International, who sold a penthouse in Kips Bay for $6.8 million in October, bought a co-op last month at the River House, at 435 East 52nd Street. He paid $9.7 million for apartment No. 16C, which has three bedrooms and three and a half baths.
