Now that closings have kicked off at condo-converted Upper West Side landmark the Apthorp, it's time for the parties responsible to take a victory lap. And by "parties" we of course mean Elliman superbroker Dolly Lenz, who took on feuding developers, lawsuits, angry renters, a credit crunch, political scrutiny, tight deadlines and the doubts of her own family members(!) and guided the building to glory. When she came aboard, "Things could not have been worse," Lenz tells the Post, but if these gorgeous and timeless huge apartments in a Manhattan icon can manage to sell for millions of dollars, then certainly there's hope for less complicated issues like unemployment and the war in Afghanistan. According to the Post report, 11 units have closed as of yesterday and 38 more are in contract, adding up to about $114 million in sales. This makes the boss very happy!
Lenz tells the Post she received a call from Mayor Bloomberg's office back when the Apthorp beat the Attorney General's deadline: "They said I had done a great thing for the city," Lenz recalls, which means that Bloomberg just lost the crucial rent-stabilized-Apthorp-tenants voting bloc when he runs for his 873rd term. And don't expect Nora Ephron to show up at any fundraisers, either!
So what's the secret to the Apthorp's sudden success? Not those big price cuts, that's for sure. According to Lenz, the previous marketers were cheapening the Apthorp brand by advertising the building as a "bargain" on buses and train stops. She decided to go a bit more upscale, because, "What person on Metro-North is buying a $5 million apartment?" Ouch, how's that burn feel, Scarsdale?
· Rescue me [NYP]
· Apthorp coverage [Curbed]
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