Fawaz Al Hokair and 432 Park Avenue (International Institute for Iranian Studies, Getty)
Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Alhokair is shopping his lofty penthouse at 432 Park Avenue with a sky-high price tag.
The founder and chairman of Saudi-based hospitality and entertainment conglomerate Fawaz Alhokair Group has listed his penthouse at the tower for $170 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Celebrity broker Ryan Serhant is handling the listing.
Alhokair paid $87.7 million for the six-bedroom pad, which is the highest unit in the supertall tower, in 2016. Notably, the property’s co-developer, CIM Group, provided him with a $56 million loan that covered nearly two-thirds of the purchase price. He went into contract on the unit in 2013. The deal was the most expensive in the tower at the time.
If Alhokair finds a buyer willing to pay near $170 million, it will be among the most expensive sales ever in the city. The record for the priciest transaction in New York City, and the country, was Ken Griffin’s $238 million purchase of a quadplex at 220 Central Park South. More recently, a buyer shelled out $157.5 million to purchase two units also at 220 Central Park South.
But over the years residents have inhabited 432 Park, which was briefly the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere, concerns have grown about plumbing and mechanical issues in the building. Elevator problems, leaks and noisy creaking walls are some of the issues residents have raised with the developers, CIM and Macklowe Properties, according to the New York Times.
Before the pandemic swept through the U.S., Alhokair bought a $94 million spec mansion in Los Angeles from developer Bruce Makowsky. Alhokair’s companies lost about $200 million last year in part because of pandemic restrictions on retail stores, according to a Reuters’ report.
[WSJ] — Erin Hudson
