Andrei Vavilov has bought a penthouse apartment at the Plaza Hotel for more than $11 million, according to an article by Max Abelson in yesterday's on-line edition of The New York Observer.
The Russian financier had signed a contract in February 2007 for $53.5 million for two penthouse apartments in the legendary building, but last September sued the property's developers, El-Ad Properties, the concern that converted part of the famous hotel into residential condominiums, to get back his $10.7 million deposit and $30 million in damages because the apartment was "attic-like" and had obstructed views. Soon thereafter, El-Ad sued him for defamation and $36 million in damages, but both parties were reported recently by Reuters and The New York Times to have settled.
Mr. Abelson's article said that "according to city records, in late January he bought the smaller unit under the name Hayling Island Inc.," adding that "a source said he didn't get his $10.7 million deposit back as he wanted, but instead swapped it for the smaller penthouse, paying a few dollars more but getting a discount from the original $14 million he was going to spend on it."
This afternoon, Mr. Abelson posted another article on-line in which he reported that "Mr. Vavilov has already put the 2,906-square-foot apartment back on the market, according to the Brown Harris Stevens' Web site, and he's hoping for a profit: The asking price is $12.5 million."
A September 8, 2008 article in The New York Observer by Mr. Abelson described Mr. Vavilov as a "buzz-cut" financier and "a hedge fund maverick who became a deputy finance minister under Yeltsin in 1992, survived an assassination attempt in a Kremlin parking lot in 1996, [and made a fortune in Russian oil in 2002...."
The Russian financier had signed a contract in February 2007 for $53.5 million for two penthouse apartments in the legendary building, but last September sued the property's developers, El-Ad Properties, the concern that converted part of the famous hotel into residential condominiums, to get back his $10.7 million deposit and $30 million in damages because the apartment was "attic-like" and had obstructed views. Soon thereafter, El-Ad sued him for defamation and $36 million in damages, but both parties were reported recently by Reuters and The New York Times to have settled.
Mr. Abelson's article said that "according to city records, in late January he bought the smaller unit under the name Hayling Island Inc.," adding that "a source said he didn't get his $10.7 million deposit back as he wanted, but instead swapped it for the smaller penthouse, paying a few dollars more but getting a discount from the original $14 million he was going to spend on it."
This afternoon, Mr. Abelson posted another article on-line in which he reported that "Mr. Vavilov has already put the 2,906-square-foot apartment back on the market, according to the Brown Harris Stevens' Web site, and he's hoping for a profit: The asking price is $12.5 million."
A September 8, 2008 article in The New York Observer by Mr. Abelson described Mr. Vavilov as a "buzz-cut" financier and "a hedge fund maverick who became a deputy finance minister under Yeltsin in 1992, survived an assassination attempt in a Kremlin parking lot in 1996, [and made a fortune in Russian oil in 2002...."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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