Thursday, November 8, 2007

Robert C. Wright Flips Out in Manhattan


SELLER: Robert C. Wright
LOCATION: "The Heritage at Trump Place," 240 Riverside Boulevard, New York, NY
PRICE: $14,750,000
SIZE: 4,673 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: ...this grand Penthouse occupies the entire 31st floor of one of the city's most prestigious white-glove condominiums. This extraordinary 9 room residence offers a private elevator landing to outstanding entertainment rooms of grand proportions, two over sized and elegant terraces, gas fireplace and soaring 11 foot ceilings...[building amenities include] Superb Fitness Center with swimming pool and spa. Garage as well as on-site valet service.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Bob Wright's collar is about as white as white collar gets. The gentleman currently serves as the chairman and CEO of NBC Universal and he has a coveted and lucrative spot on the board of General Electric, where he was once the President of GE Financial Services (GE now owns NBC, of course). Even the most stoopid of the children know what all that means for Mister Wright: Kaching!

According to General Electric's 2007 proxy statement, back in 2006, when he was Vice Chairman of the Board of General Electric, Mister Wright raked in a salary of $2,500,000. Which may not sound like much to the children, but his total compensation package was worth a whopping $17,823,889, including a $6,900,000 bonus. According to another website, at the end of 2006, Mister Wright's GE pension was worth in excess of $60,000,000, which means he won't be worried about the outrageous cost of health care when he's old and infirm.

Mister Wright appears to be using some of his vast income to flip a swankified penthouse in "The Heritage at Trump Place," one of The Donald's Kostas Kondylis designed architectural monstrosities that line the Westside Highway in Midtown Manhattan. Property records reveal that Mister and Missus Wright purchased their 31st floor aerie in March of 2007 for $10,695,000.

It would appear they had a nice gay decorator do the place up (is that a Giacometti sculpture in the living room?), and before the paint is even had time to fully dry, the place is back on the market with a steep price increase at $14,750,000. The Manhattan real estate market continues to sky rocket, even amid the mortgage woes in much of the country, so maybe the mega-rich executive will in fact be able to sell this penthouse on and add another $3,000,000+ to his already fat retirement fund.

The size of the full floor apartment varies depending on the source, but let's just say it's 4,673 square feet, which is the size on file with the city. Your Mama confesses that it's nearly impossible for us to actually like anything in a Trump building (sorry Donald, but your brand of luxury just isn't for us), but we do think the rooms are properly proportioned for a $10,000,000+ apartment, and the generous window size allows the residence to float haughtily above the city and the Hudson River.

The floors are spectacular and the kitchen is acceptable (Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter have the same wine cooler at our beach house!), and the covered loggias are an excellent place for relax unless your acrophobic and/or suicidal.

Property records and the relatively spare and upscale executive blah decor makes Your Mama think this sky high penthouse was intended as a pied a terre for the commuting couple who also own a big house on Sasco Hill Road overlooking the fairways of the Country Club of Fairfield in Fairfield, CT, which many say is the ugly step-child of hoity-toity Westport, CT, but let's not have that ugly debate today.

We can't imagine why the Wrights would buy and sell this penthouse so quickly. Perhaps they found the extremely west side location a little out of the way? Maybe it's just too big? Maybe they're looking to cash in an an seemingly never ending market in Manhattan that just climbs and climbs and climbs to ever dizzying prices.

24 comments:

so_chic_darling said...

Donald Trump for all his money has no idea about taste,architecture or scale,and he doesn't give a shit about the impact his UGLY buildings have not only on the neighborhoods,but the whole city.

luke220 said...

The building and its location may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the floor plan has a nice symmetry and balance.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Luke -- a wonderfully organized floor plan.

But the whole Trump thing...

so_chic_darling said...

Oh shut up!It's like looking at a piece of dog shit on the ground and saying "Oh it looks like a map of Italy".

so_chic_darling said...

To put it bluntly,there is nothing nice you can say about shit!

so_chic_darling said...

I have lived in New York for 25 years and watched as the Donald has been allowed to leave his shit all over the sidewalks of Manhattan,he never gets a fine though because he's so powerful he CAN break ALL the rules!

so_chic_darling said...

He will NEVER be forgiven by many of us for demolishing one of the most beautiful Art Deco buildings in New York,the old Bonwit Teller building,to build his biggest pile of shit Trump Tower!
OK enough I'm going to take a pill now!

Anonymous said...

...and how many writers live like this? Oh, right. NONE.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I like Donald's buildings. Great apartment but I think it may be overpriced.

Anonymous said...

I'm with so_chic_darling, Donald Trump is a boor. His architecture is a blight on our beautiful city, his personalitry possibly even more so.
He spits when he talks, too, which is really fucking off-putting, to put it mildly.
It is a beautiful apartment, he coud have built it in the heritage building he razed. It's called creative architecture in challenging space.
What a dumbass. I don't like him at all.

Troy N. said...

ugh, I can't get past the TRUMP name connected with it

so_chic_darling said...

Thanks Bentley and Troy N for backing me up on this.We love our city and Trump has shit all over it.

Anonymous said...

Yes and watch out Los Angeles before you know it all the Art Deco buildings along Wilshire will be gone too!

Anonymous said...

now is not the time to be greedy, 2006,2005,2004,2003 was, but not now....

luke220 said...

Don't let your dislike of Donald Trump cloud your judgement. This apartment has wonderful exposures, great flow and nicely proportioned rooms.

Donald has obviously served a market niche quite effectively.

luke220 said...

P.S. I think that this apartment is overpriced by about $5 million, but Donald can't be blamed for that!

Anonymous said...

But how do you really feel So Chic?

I don't disagree that Trump's aesthetics are, generally speaking, a blight on New York.

But I'm going to agree with Luke once again -- the apartment's layout has a pre-war vibe thanks to its Palladian sense of balance. NOT what you expect from Trump, but there it is.

Anonymous said...

It's worth 1MM tops......

Anonymous said...

if donald trump were a drag queen, his name would by Phyllis Stine.

the exterior of the building is a shrieking beacon of banality. but the floor plan, well, goddamn if it ain't a beauty.

the question is, has someone informed mister trump?

i think not, otherwise he would've stepped in to give it a comb over.

Anonymous said...

now that a russian industralist paid 150MM for a penthouse in ny this place is worth 50MM

that is unless the dow goes to 9000
which is a 4000 drop

I think the agents and mortgage brokers, bankers should give at least 90% of their earnings back to the people of the US before the US is in bankruptcy

this re market is the biggest scam of all time

this is pathetic, city officials

http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/474085.html

so_chic_darling said...

Joe Bob for one mil you would get an average one bedroom in an average building in Manhattan.

Anonymous said...

Views are nice, but Trump and his buildings, shows, his whole worldview are horrific. May he live in interesting times.

Anonymous said...

The building is ugly, the interiors are ugly but the floor plan is gorgeous and the views are nice.

Overpriced? Yes.

And as far as I'm concerned Donald did himself a great disservice when he divorced Ivana, the lady knows how to decorate in the 'so tacky it's timeless' style like nobody else. His buildings now just look 'blah'.

luke220 said...

I think that the banal building design should be blamed on Costas Kondylis & Partners, the architects. Many of their other projects, not just Trump's, are even more ordinary.