Eloise may be very lonely.
As many as 25 apartments in the world-famous Plaza are back on the market, with many owners struggling to sell their units in the problem-plagued building, The Post has learned.
“It’s overwhelming,” said one broker. “That’s more than 50 percent of the residences that are for sale. I’ve never seen it happen before.”
The relisted residences in the revamped building range in price from $1.8 million to $50 million. Some have languished on the slumping sales market for as long as six months with multimillion-dollar reductions. And more may be available soon, insiders said.
Many who bought into the building after its three-year renovation have been dissatisfied with a range of issues, from small windows to low ceilings to buckling floors.
Out of all the listings, just one apartment appears to be in contract, records show, and some sellers have been dropping their asking prices.
There are also 20 apartments for rent ranging from $5,800 to $75,000 a month.
The latest apartments to appear on the market include one owned by fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger, who is asking $50 million.
Other high rollers who have bought into the legendary property include embattled developer Harry Macklowe, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and James Cayne, head of now-defunct Bear Stearns. None are pulling out just yet.
The flood of listings comes as word that the apartments that had been sold – sight unseen – during renovations were not as promised.
The Post reported yesterday that Russian hedge-fund manager Andrei Vavilov filed a $31 million lawsuit against the project’s developer El-Ad, claiming that the penthouse apartment they sold him was more like an “attic” than the luxury digs he’d been promised.
Vavilov’s attorney argued his client was not alone in his discontent.
“Since this lawsuit was filed, people have reached out to us to share their experiences with El-Ad at The Plaza,” Vavilov’s attorney, David Scharf, told The Post.
“The biggest disappointment is it’s not what was promised, from the windows to the ceiling heights,” one broker said. “They should’ve been more honest.”
Elizabeth Stribling, President and owner of Stribling & Associates that markets The Plaza Residences, stood by the project.
“This situation strikes me as a good old-fashioned case of ‘buyer’s remorse,’ ” she said in a statement. “The purchaser, who now appears to have changed his mind and wishes to break his contract, has no basis for doing so.”
Brokers have also complained that potential clients had been treated cavalierly by Stribling.
“They wouldn’t even allow them to go upstairs to see the views and the actual space,” said one high-end agent who brought in a customer with a $20 million-plus budget.
Another broker, Dolly Lenz, said her customer just gave up after a few visits to the building.
“My client felt he wasn’t getting the full story and finally decided to go elsewhere,” she said.
There have been other problems as well.
One buyer of a two-bedroom apartment said her floors were buckling and that her ceiling was falling, said a person familiar with the sale.
The lighting on the building is also in need of replacing, after it was discovered that the lights El-Ad installed weren’t weatherproof.