Even celebrities lose out on apartments they make an offer on.
Matt Damon recently made a bid on a 7,000-square-foot unit at tony condo building 535 West End Ave.
But, sources say, the actor didn’t bid high enough and he was also asking for some expensive changes to the apartment.
“Another family came in with a higher bid and scooped the unit out from under him,” an insider says.
The unit is now in contract, we hear, for more than $20 million.
But Damon, who has rented at the Belnord on West 86th Street and seems to love the Upper West Side, might still have a shot at 535 West End Ave. The unit he wanted was originally part of a sprawling 14,000-square-foot home that was listed for $37.5 million.
That mega-residence was broken up into two 7,000-square-foot condos. The second unit is expected to hit the market soon.
Going for broker
Town Residential’s new broker, Wilbur Gonzalez — his first day at the firm is today — is in contract to sell his own third-floor home at 40 Mercer St.
The last asking price was $4.35 million. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo is 1,646 square feet. The buyer, we hear, is a financier who will use it as his New York pied-à-terre.
The 14-story building, a collaboration between André Balazs and Jean Nouvel, has been home to Meg Ryan, Marc Jacobs and Daniel Radcliffe.
Gonzalez, who also recently bought a home in Los Angeles’ fancy Hollywood Hills, has decided to keep his other NYC home at 255 Hudson St. He had been trying to sell that condo as well but has taken it off the market.
Hathaway clocks in
What a difference a few years make for actress Anne Hathaway who, with fiancé Adam Shulman, just moved into the clocktower building at 1 Main St. in DUMBO.
The couple aren’t in the building’s famous penthouse triplex that is still on the market for $19 million and was once asking $50,000 a month in rent. Their move came after an exhaustive search of $6,000-a-month units in the neighborhood that included modest apartments at 30 Main St. and 70 Washington St. The units they looked at were generally one-bedroom lofts with river views and room for a home office. Neighbors describe Hathaway as low-key.
Her new home is a far cry from the grandiose digs she once shared with her former fiancé — Vatican-scamming con man Raffaello Follieri, who traded his pinstripes for prison stripes after pleading guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
In 2009, Hathaway and Follieri were paying $37,000 a month for a 7,750-square-foot duplex on the 46th and 47th floor of the Olympic Tower at 641 Fifth Ave. That unit, which was once owned by arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, has just been rented for a little over its $58,000-a-month asking price. The renter is Henry Hay, co-founder of Centaur Properties, who is living there while his Upper East Side townhouse is being renovated.
Listing broker John Barbato of Stribling & Associates could not be reached for comment.
Faye Downaway
Faye Dunaway, who left her rent-stabilized Upper East Side apartment last year in dramatic fashion, is looking for downtown digs.
Last November, Dunaway agreed to give up her $1,048-a-month Upper East Side rental after her landlord sued to evict her, arguing that her primary residence is in California. Dunaway had the apartment since 1994.
Now, our spies have spotted the Oscar-winning actress on the prowl for a new apartment in the East Village. Dunaway checked out a one-bedroom, one-bathroom rental at 300 E. Fourth St. for $2,800 a month.
The unit boasts exposed brick, room for a king-sized bed as well as an “additional oversized sleeping/storage loft” space, according to the listing.
Broker Noble Black of the Corcoran Group declined to comment.
We hear . . .
That Tishman Speyer’s Michelle Adams celebrated her 40th birthday at the Four Seasons restaurant with 40 guys including Bill Rudin, Rob Speyer, Jonathan Tisch and Kevin Sheekey.