A tenant paid $3m to live in the heart of New York

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33929, 23 August 1975, Page 11

A tenant paid $3m to live in the heart of New York

NEW YORK. A new dimension in living in New York looms over the spires of St Patrick’s Cathedral, on Fifth Avenue. It is the 52-storey Olympic Towers, brainchild of the late Aristotle Onassis. Prices of residential condominiums range from $150,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to $650,000 for penthouse duplexes wjth some of the most spectacular views in the world. On a clear day I stood on the unfinished fifty-sec-ond floor and savoured the panorama of Manhattan which some lucky, wealthy residents will soon be able to call their very own. To the south rose the majestic Empire State Building and the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and finally Miss Liberty herself, nestled in New York Harbour. To the north lay the city’s only major green carpet, Central Park. Directly opposite the Olympic Towers is Rockefeller Centre with its beautifully manicured roof gardens; to the east ran the East River, active with tugs and tour ferries, and 10 miles away — easily distinguishable — was La Guardia Airport. Of the almost 4000 m people on this earth it has been calculated that only 80,000 could afford any of the apartments I visited in the Olympic Towers this week. And most of the 80.000 are already out of luck; of the 210 apartments. 180 have already been sold in little more than nine months for nearly s36m. Heady sale Almost three-quarters of the 19 floors of corporate office apace has been

leased for an aggregate rent of s6sm. “The building has been selling out for two years ahead of schedule,” a spokesman for the Towers told me. “We certainly didn’t expect such response.” But it is evident that even in a period of economic instability the wealthy are soon parted from their money — for a good cause. What kind of people will live in this hotel-cum-apartment building, with its sheer skin of reflecting glass that mirrors the grandeur of midtown Manhattan and dwarfs the majesty of St Patrick's Cathedral? They are the nameless, exceedingly wealthy, international jet and business set, nameless, because a clause in their contracts assures them utmost secrecy. The building is jointly owned by an Onassisowned company now controlled by Christina Onassis through family trusts. Art collection There are buyers from 27 countries: 25 per cent are from Europe; 22 per cent from Latin America; 16 per cent from Mexico; and 15-20 per cent from the United States. One tenant bought two entire floors which comprised 16 apartments, for s3m. He is converting them into a permanent “house” in New York. Yet another tenant, who has a magnificent art collection which he stored in Parke-Bernet Galleries and had to sign in every time he wanted to look at his paintings, bought an apartment to hang the collection.

What is it, besides the exclusiveness, that has made people rush to buy into the s9sm building” (Th* $650,000 duplexes

were the first apartments to be snapped up). For one thing, the tenant with the art collection knows he will be protected by an extraordinary security system. Each of his paintings will be individually lipked to a computerised system, monitored 24 hours a day. Wall safes and other valuable items can also be connected to the system. Alarm *y*t<*m Should the system be triggered at any stage, even accidentally by a ten-

ant, audible and visual alarms will set the Towers humming. For the money paid, tenants will have the comfort and security of a leading hotel and Fort Knox. The combined concept of hotel and apartment living is heavily stressed. Behind the running smoothness and security of the Olympic Towers will be the perfect “Man Friday" — the conciergegeneral manager — who has yet to be found. When found, the concierge will be responsible for arranging at any time private helicopters, planes, yachts and limousines; hotel reservations; Broadway tickets; fresh flowers and the stocking of gourmet foods and wine; arranging maid and butler service; and co-ordinating a black tie sit-down dinner for 12. Central theme The apartments have one central theme: the Siena marble in the bathrooms chosen by Onassis himself, who was a constant visitor ■to the Towers to keep him-

self in touch with its pro gress. Four teams of architect - designers were brought in to work on four display apartments, one was a one bedroom apartment for an unmarried executive; another. crammed with wo r 1 d-wide mementoes was for a weary, well-trav-elled married couple come home to stay. But my favourite was a two-bedroom apartment for the busy executive who u'anted to use his apartment as a working conference centre. There were tloor-to-ceil-mg white-lacquered chromr trimmed doors closing ofl the living area, white marble tile on the floors, grasscloth matting on the walls, a superb leather conference-dining table with matching leather and chrome chairs Decor bought But the piece de resistance was a dark green hand-acquered $5OOO unit dividing the dining and living areas which housed $6OOO w'orth of television, movie and slide projectors cassette player and recorder and stereo equipment. The executive who ongi nally bought the apartment took one look at the display decor and demanded that it stay, adding another $150,000 to his $400,000 apartment The public has not been entirely left out of the building. At street level, running between 51st and 52nd Streets will be Olympic Place a beautifully landscaped indoor park with restaurant, bar, shops and galleries. Rising to a height of three Moreys, this Fifth Avenue oasis w I also c intain a multi-level waterfall. But. to the people on the 52nd floor in their cosv

duplexes. Olympic Plate wiil seem as far away as Timbuktu.

DON RISEBOROUGH reports on what life will be like in the 52-storey Olympic Towers, on NeuYork’s Fifth Avenue.