$12 Million Co-op Apartment Sold at Pierre Hotel

Today’s biggest coop apartment sale involved a $12 million deal for a 7th floor unit at the legendary Pierre Hotel.

The seller was Elaine Bienenstock, according to New York City public records. In-the-know readers are invited to comment on the particulars of this grande dames

The apartment’s buyer, however, is a corporation shrouded in secrecy. The new owner is 707 International Corporation, an entity that had its attorneys at Grant, Herrmann, Schwartz & Klinger, LLP (’GSK’) list their contact address for any further information.

According to the law firm’s website, GSK “specialize[s] in in Latin American law, and the representation of foreign investors in the United States.” That suggests the new owners are probably staggeringly wealthy Latin Americans who can pass a very a “co-op board [that] is so tough.”

Eight years ago, New York real estate broker Joanne Greene aptly noted that when it comes to high-end units, “the more expensive the apartment, the less time they live there.”

Last year, the Pierre had the caché of having Manhattan’s most and second-most expensive co-op apartments on the market. Martin Zweig had his triplex penthouse at the Pierre on the market for $70 million for more than three years.

Warburg Pincus Chairman Lionel Pincus’ duplex co-op at the Pierre has been on the market since last fall for $50 million. Corcoran Broker Joan Kaplan has the listing.

Kaplan’s listing reveals that Pincus’ apartment must be a 100% cash deal, apparently a stringent requirement imposed by the Pierre’s co-op board. Today’s $12M sale of the 7th floor unit was likely an all-cash transaction too.