Apparently when real estate mogul Aby Rosen had his RFR Realty contract to buy an old mansion on Manhattan’s Park Ave back in July he was thinking about himself.
The New York Daily News has reported that Rosen plans to turn the mansion, currently divided into 10 co-op apartments, back into a single residence in which he will live.
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If Rosen does so, it will give him the largest private home on Park Ave.
Rosen is currently negotiating to gain control of 75% of the shares of the historic mansion located at 1025 Park Ave., also known as the Dekoven House. He will need the approval of its co-op board’s current president Mary Wilder, the ex-wife of famous comedic actor Gene Wilder.
If the real estate developer succeeds, he will become the new head of the board and then try to buy out the shares of the building’s remaining residents.
Rosen can be expected to pay more than $60 million just to secure the property, plus however much more to combine its current ten units back into a single residence. The mansion was converted into private apartments back in 1945.
Luxury real estate broker Donna Olshan commented to The Daily News about Rosen’s plans, “A guy buying an entire apartment building for himself? That never happens. This ratchets up trophy home buying to a whole other level.”
No deal for the property has yet been closed.
Sandwiched between two high rise apartment buildings near the corner of 85th Street, 1025 Park Ave. is 60 feet wide and has a total of 19, 000 square feet of space. The brick and limestone mansion was first constructed in 1912 for the prominent composer of light opera and popular songs, Reginald Dekoven, and his wife, Anna, the author of books such as “The Life and Letters of John Paul Jones.”
At the time the purchase was first revealed, it was believed that Rosen was interested in converting the property into office spaces for rent.
