With its attention-grabbing wall of windows and only a dozen glamorous apartments, 433 East 74th Street was dubbed Lux 74 by its developer, but the building has picked up another nickname from its Upper East Side neighbors, Page 6 reports: The Ponzi Palace. That's because celebrity-scamming money manager Kenneth Starr and a Madoff both bought places there. Starr, in fact, closed on his townhouse-style triplex not long before being dragged out his closet by the FBI. Neighbor Andrew Madoff (son of Bernie) has yet to be officially accused of anything, though reports indicate tax fraud charges may be near. Let's take a closer look at these fancy condos procured with alleged ill-gotten gains.
Starr's nearly 6,000-square-foot triplex at the bottom of the building is Lux 74's main event, and was the last unit in the building to sell. The building's website (click "Residence") has oodles of photos of the 5BR/6BA whopper, which includes a private indoor lap pool with adjacent wet bar, a sauna, a 1,500-square-foot backyard and a "banquet room." Starr paid just over $7.6 million. Behold the floorplan porn:
The place was listed for as much as $8.2 million, so Starr got a good deal?er, if he's allowed to stick around. Meanwhile, Andrew Madoff also opted for a 5BR condo in the building, albeit in a more snug and far less flashy 3,215-square-foot package. Madoff bought #5A for $4.378 million in early 2008, slightly above its asking price at the time. Back then, a bidding war against a Madoff must have been a losing proposition for most.
Upper East Side co-op dwellers may gloat about keeping the riffraff out, but hey, Bernie snuck by a board, right? And like the elder Madoff, will it be dear old Uncle Sam taking these Lux homes to the resale market?
· Tainted address [Page 6]
· Lux 74 [Official Site]
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