In baseball terms, developer William Lie Zeckendorf is making what could be called a double play.
First, the real estate mogul began to quietly market his penthouse home on the 41st floor of 15 Central Park West, the already legendary luxury limestone building he built with his brother Arthur, last August.
Then, once a mystery buyer signed a contract to purchase the residence for $40 million — and it became the most expensive per square foot condo in the city, at $10,259 a foot, as The Post reported exclusively — Zeckendorf was ready for his next move.
Sources tell The Post that Zeckendorf has an accepted offer on the late Bruce Wasserstein’s Fifth Avenue co-op, which is currently on the market for $26 million. Wasserstein was an investment banking legend, and was the brother of the late Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein.
Wasserstein’s 11th-floor duplex at 927 Fifth Avenue was so hotly desired that brokers were only given three days to show it. The listing brokers were from Brown Harris Stevens, which Zeckendorf co-owns.
Zeckendorf did not return several calls. However, sources say his bid was around $27 million — lower than billionaires who bid higher but were rejected.
“It’s ironic that the estate of ‘Bid ’em Up Bruce’ may not get the best price for his apartment,” said one miffed broker, referring to Wasserstein’s history of getting clients to keep boosting their buyout bids.
Sources told The Post that the sale was also dependent upon the fact that Zeckendorf had found a buyer for his penthouse. While some brokers say Zeckendorf is selling out — leaving a new building he built to go to a more snooty pre-war — others disagree.
“It’s a smart move [for Zeckendorf] and it is great for real estate,” said one broker.
The Corcoran Group is rumored to have brought in the 15 CPW penthouse mystery buyer, even though the seller’s allegiances were with Brown Harris Stevens.
Zeckendorf bought the condo at 15 CPW for $10.7 million in its pre-construction phase.
At about $4,200 a square foot, the Fifth Avenue pre-war duplex is much bigger and cheaper than the 15 CPW residence, which is a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, 3,899-square-foot unit with a 211-square-foot terrace.
Still, the posh pads have a few things in common.
Both have unobstructed views of Central Park.
And while 15 CPW is home to billionaires, hedge fund moguls, actors, rock stars and athletes — including A-Rod, Kelsey Grammer and Sting — 927 Fifth is not without its own drama.
The Fifth Avenue co-op was also home to the city’s most famous celebrity bird, Pale Male, a rare hawk whose temporary displacement outraged one celebrity human — Mary Tyler Moore — so much that she complained and moved out, selling her tony residence for $18 million.