The Plaza Hotel’s historic Astor Suite returns with a $10M discount

So far, Esprit founder Jurgen Friedrich has struck out three times in his attempt to sell the Astor Suite at the Plaza Hotel. He purchased the palatial spread, which has hosted everyone from President John F. Kennedy to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, for $25 million in 2007, and attempted to flip it just one year later for $55.5 million. (He was unsuccessful, obviously.) It also had a brief spell as the city’s priciest rental, asking $165,000/month.

It hit the market a little more than a year ago for $39.5 million, but even that was too rich for the current state of the market; despite its pedigree as “one of the most historic homes ever to become available in the United States” (according to the brokerbabble, anyway), it’s gotten another pricechop. This time, the apartment is listed with Douglas Elliman’s Melanie Lazenby and Dina Lewis for $29.95 million.

The apartment has also changed slightly; it’s now 5,102 square feet, though still a four-bedroom, thanks to the addition of a smaller guest suite. It still has a plethora of over-the-top decorative details, courtesy a 2011 renovation by S.R. Gambrel Inc.

The listing notes that the interior designer hired “the artisans who rebuilt Windsor Castle” to oversee that revamp, and there are plenty of vintage-inspired details—“hand-drawn plaster ceilings; English oak paneling; antique fireplace mantles; and hand-hammered leather walls from France”—that fit with the old-world feel they were clearly going for. There’s also a 522 square foot terrace.

But all the hand-drawn plaster in the world can’t make buyers interested; perhaps the lower price will be more of an enticement? Only time will tell.

The new listing doesn’t have a floorplan, but here’s one from when the pad was a super-duper-pricey rental:

Correction: An earlier version of this piece gave the incorrect square footage and room count for the apartment; it has since been updated. Curbed regrets the error.

• Listing: 1 Central Park South #508509 [Elliman]