A storied Park Avenue penthouse owned by the former nation of Yugoslavia will hit the market for the first time next month after languishing empty for more than a quarter of a century.
The 4,300-square foot duplex has an asking price of $18 million and is one of two Manhattan properties that is part of a worldwide fire sale of luxury properties owned by the former Balkan state.
The sprawling five-bedroom, four-bathroom pad that includes a 400-foot terrace in a white-glove building that features a concierge and elevator operator has remained empty since conflicts broke out in Yugoslavia in 1992.
The duplex became a no-man’s land, collateral damage from the fighting among the successor states of Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia, who have spent the last several years negotiating the sale of the apartment and a Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue, which listed last April for $50 million.
The apartment was bought on the orders of Yugoslav strongman Josip Broz Tito who sometimes stayed at the penthouse on trips to the city to address the UN. Tito also stayed at the Fifth Ave. mansion, which his government bought following the Second World War.
Yugoslavia’s UN ambassador Jaksa Petric bought the Park Avenue duplex as the official residence for the country’s UN envoys for $100,000 in 1975. He paid $1 extra for all of the furnishings, according to Douglas Elliman’s listing broker, Tristan Harper, adding that it took more than four months to clean the vacant apartment.
“It’s a true diamond in the rough that can be made into the real crown jewel atop one of the most exclusive Park Ave. buildings,” said Harper.