Plaza Hotel Penthouse Listed For $59 Million

Image via Brown Harris Stevens

There are those who flip houses for a profit, then there’s Christian Candy, who has taken the concept to a whole new level. The 38-year-old developer purchased the triplex penthouse in New York’s Plaza Hotel last year for $25.9 million and has now listed the unit with Brown Harris Stevens for $59 million.

Over the past year, Candy’s company, Candy & Candy, redesigned the triplex to reflect a contemporary appearance. The loft-like interior is adorned with marble, dark woods, brass and sculptural lighting. The 6,319 square-foot penthouse—consisting of four bedrooms and 5 ½ bathrooms, features a terrace off the master bedroom and a glass wall facing Central Park—also comes with Candy & Candy custom-selected furnishings.

But does a redesign actually double the value of a property? If the penthouse sells at Candy’s asking price, it will break records for condominiums sold at the century-old building. Since the Plaza converted to condos in 2007, the most paid for a unit was $48 million for two adjacent condos by Russian composer Igor Krutoy in 2011. Krutoy paid the equivalent of $6,316 per square foot, but Candy is asking more than $9,300 per square foot.

It’s not the only time Candy has made such a valuable flip, either. According to the Wall Street Journal, he and his brother Nick, 40, paid $121 million for a 10,000-square-foot home in London’s Chelsea district last year with plans to triple its size.

Hopefully, Candy will have better luck in his sale than previous owners of the Plaza penthouse. Apparently, when Russian financier Andrei Vavilov paid $53.5 million for the unit based solely on a video view in 2008, he sued for a refund after he found the condo an “attic-like space” with low ceilings and obstructed views.

Image via Brown Harris Stevens

Image via Brown Harris Stevens

Image via Brown Harris Stevens

Image via Brown Harris Stevens

Image via Brown Harris Stevens

Image via Brown Harris Stevens