Friday, February 8, 2008

UPDATE: Howard Gittis

Yesterday, research queen B.S. Beaverman forwarded an article from the Palm Beach Post that reports that the magnificent Palm Beach water front estate of the late Howard Gittis has already gone to contract for purchase less than six weeks after hitting the market with much fanfare and ballyhoo by real estate gossips like Your Mama. The children will recall that Your Mama discussed the art filled manse back in early January.

According to the article, the Palm Beach real estate scuttlebutt sweeping up and down S. Ocean Boulevard indicates that the buyer is New York City real estate tycoon Lloyd Goldman. Read up on Mister Goldman kids, he's got all sorts of fascinating connections to iconic Manhattan real estate including being intricately involved in securing developer Larry Silverstein's purchase of the 99 year lease on the World Trade Center just weeks before the towers were taken down by terrorists on September 11, 2001, a cataclysmic event that Your Mama witnessed from a far too close a vantage point.

The article goes on to report the rumor that Mister Goldman is rumored to be forking over "about $22,000,000," for the 12,620 foot mansion on Via Palma, just under the asking price of $23,500,000. Listing agent Paulette Koch told the Palm Beach Post that there was great interest in the property by all sorts of moguls, blue bloods and stinking rich nabobs and that the 6 bedroom and 9.5 bathroom house was sold unfurnished. Naturally, the big name and blue chip artworks were not included in the sale and are without doubt worth far more than the real estate. Your Mama imagines all that gorgeousness is locked inside somebody's Fort Knox like vault until it can be donated to a world class museum or sold at auction.

The children will also note that Your Mama gets a very generous and friendly shout out by the good people at the Palm Beach Post who previously had this to say about our little online endeavor. Hey! Show some love for the Palm Beach Post children.

Westerly, Mister Gittis' swanky and sprawling Southampton estate remains unsold as far as Your Mama knows and is currently on the market for a mind bending $59,000,000.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to know it doesn't come with those drapes . . .

;-)

Anonymous said...

Mama,

The Palm Beach Post was so thoughtful to acknowledge your good work, and such a nice detailed story(!) plus your attributed quotes in Forbes this week. Not too shabby, and well deserved. Bravo!

I'm sure Mr. Gittis would be please to know his good taste in propety found a new buyer so quickly. I'm not surprised. It's georgeous.

Anonymous said...

Aw, Mama, congrats - such nice things they said; and they even mentioned us chilruns!

"I could cry with pride . . . " *




* Bette Davis in Now Voyager

Anonymous said...

Funny the Palm Beach Post warned readers visiting Mama's blog to behave themselves. They must have tuned into some of the ass whuppin she's given us. There are some funny new voices here of late. Love the high class lady decorator. Since she's on record as being an anti-warmfuzzyhuggykisser, I'm afraid to ask her if I should puddle my drapes since she might just flick me away like a piece of toilet paper stuck on her shoe. But anyway, here goes.

Dear High Class Lady Decorator, what's your opinion on the correct fall of light weight curtains on tall windows? Please don't hit me.

Anonymous said...

Consideration for the rights and feelings of others is not merely a rule for behavior in public but the very foundation upon which social life is built.
-- Emily Post

Anonymous said...

Aunt Mary there is only one instance of puddling curtains that ever worked and that was at Pauline De Rothschild's divine London townhouse.It can not be repeated and should not,therefore no puddling of any kind please.

Anonymous said...

If you can always go for the no curtains look by the way.In general they are too fussy for 21st century taste.

Anonymous said...

I say if piddling, um I mean puddling makes you happy, then puddle (or piddle) away . . .

Anonymous said...

Pauline's perfectly puddled portiers prohibit plagiarizing peons pretensions. Persuasive point.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Aunt Mary!

At this time of day I can barely manage "Good Evening," let alone your riff on "Peter Piper . . . "

Someone please hand her a hankie . . . I think I spotted a tiny drop of spittle.

Anonymous said...

Nice alliteration Aunt Mary! Ah, Palm Beach, now there's a market I really know something about, my family having had winter homes there for the longer than I've been alive...not surprised at all that this high-quality property moved so quickly at such a high price...just goes to show that well priced, desirable homes will ALWAYS move, no matter what the market, and if your (or any home for that matter) languishes on the market for months or years at a time, it either sucks or is over-priced...and kudos to mama for getting so many mentions in the press lately, our little mama is fast becoming a star!

Anonymous said...

Sandpiper, that is one of my favorite "Post-isms."

I keep a copy of her "Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" on my desk at work (prominently displayed for its intimidation value). Makes my clients think twice before asking stupid questions.

But we're ultimately a bunch of Mama's snot-nosed, squabbling chilruns, runnin' around picking our noses and biting and scratching each other - on whom such subtly is often lost; I bet if we took a poll, we'd find that no one would know the correct fork to use to scratch your back with at a sit down dinner party . . .

;-)

(BTW, it's the fish fork.)

so_chic_darling said...

I just love the Palm Beach Post for getting you and all your fab real estate drama too.Who knew they were so cool and hip?

Anonymous said...

Nice pub Mama but a quick correction on the article found by your research queen. The newspaper that reported the sale was the Palm Beach Daily News aka "The Shiny Sheet" not the Palm Beach Post although they are sister papers.

Anonymous said...

You don't report that the $22,500,000 is blood money. Goldman is one of the most notorious slum landlords in NYC and is known for harassing tenants, using heavy-handed intimidation and deprivation of basic services.