FABULOUS CENTRAL PARK TOWNHOME

This 1887 six-level Central Park West and 85^th Street NYC townhouse is unusual!  Originally listed last May for $37MM, price has since been lowered to $32.5MM.  There are 12,000 living sq ft.  

A glass and steel staircase looks like a stairway to the stars.

Included are an indoor 60’ lap fresh water pool and home gym.  It is one of very few townhouses still on the Park.

The townhome has 5 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths, an elevator and finished lower level with the pool and gym.  The parlor floor and living area boast double-height ceilings and gallery sized walls.   

Natural light floods the great room from a dome-shaped skylight.  There are professional fitness/massage areas, 2 offices, bow-front window seat in the master suite with panoramic Park views.  

The chef’s kitchen is fit for grand dining, is next to the dining room and zen-bamboo garden for outdoor dining.

A theatre is included.

Interested?  Ask Marilyn for more details.

CHECK OUT WHAT A $100,000,000 ($100MM-USD) HOLIDAY GIFT WOULD BUY IN MANHATTAN

The ultimate holiday gift: a 19-room mansion built in 1883 and completely renovated and embellished  in 2005, is located at 12 East 69^thStreet, a prime location in Manhattan between 5^thAvenue and Madison Avenue.  This pretty limestone mansion is already gift wrapped.  List price is $114,077,000.  The sidewalks and exterior steps are heated.

A fabulous duplex library features a celestial celing mural, 2-story rendition of Kipling’s poem, “If,” built-in black walnut bookcases and burled elm paneling. A spiral staircase connects to the parlor level catwalk to the main library below.

Grand Hall/Living Room, 850 living sq ft, has detailed gilded moldings in the coffered ceilings, a walnut marquetry floor, and Brazilian travertine fireplace.

Kitchen is 40’ wide, has brick and fieldstone walls, a brick pizza oven, butcher block center island and floors made from reclaimed railroad ties.

The museum-quality formal dining room has a carved stone fireplace which is a replica of a dining room at the Palace of Versailles in France.  Floor-to-ceiling windows have mahogany frames.  Black walnut marquetry floor has a “rug border”.  Plaster walls are adorned with golf leaf.

Romantic and lavish guest bedroom on 5^th floor has en-suite bath and walk-in closets.

Spa/bathroom resembles a Grecian temple.  Bath tub is Italian onyx with raised soaking rub carved from a single slab of stone; bidet and toilet are carved from matching onyx.  Steam shower is framed by  mosaic tile archway.

Fit for a king, the master bedroom suite features golf-leaf moldings, a sitting area with fireplace, hidden his-and-hers walk in closets and 2^ndmaster bath.

Ground floor informal family room/den has a riverstone fireplace and home office area.

The 420 sq ft home theater/media center has sound-proofed walls and red cherry wood balcony.

Lower level indoor saltwater swimming pool is heated.

Three-tiered roof terrace offers a glimpse of Central Park and Upper East Side cityscape.  Imagine watching the July 4^th fireworks from here!

WHERE DOES OUR COUNTY’S PROPERTY TAX MONEY COME FROM?

West Palm Beach has the highest 2013 tax bill, 69.7mm with Boca Raton next at $59.1MM), Delray Beach at $47.3MM and Palm Beach Gardens at $47MM.  Palm Beach’s property tax bill of $41MM makes it 5^th highest in the county.

Largest tax bill goes to Florida Power & Light ($76.3MM), the Breakers is one of the top 10 taxpayers with the highest tax bill on the island, and includes properties in West Palm Beach.  Other high tax payers include Boca Raton Town Center’s trust, Bell South Communications, U.S. Sugar Corp and the owner of the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Comcast, Boca Raton Reosrt & Club, and Wellington Green mall owners.

·       686,556 property tax bills are mailed out by the tax collector

·       Total tax revenue is $3,025 BB.

Tax Collector is Anne Gannon, whose name you know if you pay property taxes.

WHEN YOU CONTRIBUTE TO A CHARITY DO YOU WONDER WHERE THE MONEY GOES?

PAP CORPS: CHAMPIONS FOR CANCER RESEARCH

IN TOWN SALES REMAINED FAIRLY STEADY FOR Q3-2013

In Q3-2013 eleven in town single family properties were sold compared to seven in same time period 2012.  Average sales price in Q3-2013 was $2,839,091; in Q3-2012 43,003,571.  Prices per sq ft respectively were $667 and $814.

For condos and townhouses, there were 23 sold in Q3-2013 and 27 in Q3-2012, respective average sales prices were $1,251,370 and $1,185,667.  Prices per sq ft respectively were $698 and $428.

The top in town sale was $9MM for a 5-bedroom, 7-bath single family home built in 2000, see photo above, with five homes selling for over $5MM. Total sales volume for the quarter was up 19.2% TO $63.2mm.  Single family sales were $31.2, and condos/co-ops/townhomes accounted for $28.8MM.

PALM BEACH COUNTY SHOPPING HAPPENINGS

If you have headed north from Okeechobee recently, you have seen large cleared areas in the Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard region, right side of I-95. 

A 900,000 sq ft development is under construction at this $200MM project.  The area covers 80-acres.  Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach, scheduled to open on Valentine’s Day, will have more than 100 retail stores, including DKNY Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5^th and Kenneth Cole Outlet.  These renderings will give you an idea of how nice it will look... and lure you to come and shop here once it opens.

This was the site of the former Palm Beach Mall.  An adjacent retail center whose opening is planned for next fall will include Whole Foods Market and a Nordstrom Rack.  Dining venues will be included. 

The City of West Palm Beach anticipates about $1MM annually in property taxes from this development.  About 1500 full-time and part-time jobs will be created.  Stay tuned at Facebook.com/Palm Beach Outlet.

SLIGHT DECLINES IN PRICES AND SQUARE FOOTAGE BUT NUMBER OF SALES IN NORTH END FOR Q3-2013 WAS UP.

There were 16 single family residential sales in Q3-2013 vs. 13 in Q3-2013, a 23.1% increase.  Average sale price declined 14.5% from $3,186,484 in Q3-2012 to $2,725,325 in Q3-2013.

Average square footage declined 19.2% from 4153 in Q3-2012 to 3355 in Q2-2013.  Price per sq ft was down 10.1% from $807 in Q3-2012 to $725 in QA3-2013.

Only one sale in the North End was under $1MM.  Highest sale was for $10.8MM, a 5-bedroom, 5 bath, 3-fireplace home with slate roof, gourmet kitchen, large closets, renovated pool and beach access, pictured above.