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Plaza Watch! Irish Hotelier's Nine Million Lucky Charms
The Irish equivalent of the Plaza is the Shelbourne Hotel, give or take a couple hundred condos.
Built in 1824, in a landmark building overlooking a park in the heart of Ireland's capital, the Shelbourne has had a long reign as what The New York Times called "the princess of Dublin hotels." Like the Plaza, the 225-room hotel never lost its cache with tourists, even as more luxurious competitors popped up and service started to decline--in October 2004, an Irish court ruling stripped the Shelbourne of its five-star status, and the hotel decided to become unclassified.
A few months later, Irish oil magnate/hotelier John Sweeney swooped in with a consortium of investors and bought the down-at-the-heels hotel for 120 million Euros and promised to restore it to its former splendor with a 40 million Euro makeover. read more »
PLAZA WATCH! Jerry Kokes's $5.4 M. Knock-Out
Jerry Kokes made his fortune selling boxing gloves. Now he's moving into one of the most white-gloved buildings in the city. The founder of T.K.O. and his wife Lynda have paid $5.4 million for a 6th-floor condo at the Plaza, city records show.
The couple are currently based in Brielle, NJ.
Plaza Watch! Billionaire Montana Philanthropist Buys $19 M. Spread
The Plaza is about as far away from Dennis J. Washington's childhood hometown of Missoula Montana as you can get, so it's a fitting place for the septuagenarian billionaire and self-styled Horatio Alger to spend his twilight years.
His wife Phyllis has paid nearly $19 million for a 19th floor-condo at the Plaza, city records show. read more »
PLAZA WATCH! Crocodile Dundee Fan Buys (Really)
A 39-year-old orthodontist from Australia has closed on a $1.9 million studio at the Plaza, city records show. Nick Kotsomitis decided to buy in New York after a short stint working stateside, The International Herald Tribune reported in November. Buoyed by the falling value of the dollar, Mr. Kotsomitis reckoned a condo in a marquis building like the Plaza would be a safe investment since the brand would make it less vulnerable to unsteady real estate trends. read more »
PLAZA WATCH! 16th-Floor Spread for Nearly $15 M.
An unknown buyer has paid $14.7 million for Unit 1609 at the Plaza, city records show. Mascot Holdings is listed as the owner on the deed, and we traced the company back to the Garfield-Bennett Trust on the Channel Islands off France.
PLAZA WATCH! Kuwaiti Investor Buys for $3.5 M.
Another flashy ex-pat has chosen the Plaza as his New York base. Kuwaiti investor Abdul Wahab al-Nakib bought a $3.5 million condo at the Plaza, city records show. Mr. al-Nakib is the chairman and managing director of Al Deera holdings, an investment firm listed on the Kuwaiti stock exchange. Al Deera's holdings include private and public companies in the Gulf, and it has a stake in real estate companies in the booming Emirate of Dubai.
