From Common Edge: 'In Honoring Philanthropists [the Tsais, Nets owners] with the Onassis Medal, the MAS Forgets Its Crusade Against Supertalls."
Joe Tsai, the Alibaba billionaire who owns the Brooklyn Nets, the Barclays Center operating company and more, has become a heavyweight in philanthropy with his wife, Clara Wu Tsai. So the venerable Municipal Art Society (MAS) is giving them the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal, its highest honor.
As I write at CommonEdge, I think that's a dubious decision, since the Tsais have invested in the kind of "supertall" tower that MAS has crusaded against: In Honoring Philanthropists with the Onassis Medal, the MAS Forgets Its Crusade Against Supertalls. I have other arguments, so click through to the essay.
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| Illustration combines MAS report with excerpts from Onassis Medal announcement. The arrow (from announcement) points to 220 CPS. |
Like an NBA team?
The Tsais’ reported purchases total $345.5 million in a “supertall” that’s perhaps Manhattan’s most prestigious building.
“NBA teams are not going to lose asset value,” Tsai told Bloomberg in January 2020, reflecting on his purchase of the Nets. “It’s like owning a penthouse apartment on Park Avenue.”
Well, they didn't buy on Park Avenue, but Central Park South is pretty similar, conceptually.
According to available information, entities associated with the couple have bought three large apartments at 220 CPS, plus two studio apartments, perhaps for staff.
The purchases in both cases represent big paydays for the sellers, but the Tsais have enough money not to worry. The Tsais could buy themselves views. To quote City Realty, “220 is one of the few towers that will grant nearly all its residents full-length views of Central Park.”
First purchases
In July 19, 2021, CNBC reported that Tsai “purchased two full-floor condo apartments at 220 Central Park South in two transactions totaling $157.5 million,” citing unnamed sources.
In “Manhattan’s most prestigious condo tower,” CNBC said, “Tsai’s purchase spans two floors (the 60th and one above) and has sweeping views of Central Park and mid-town Manhattan. The deal also includes a studio apartment on the 18th floor, likely for staff.“
The article cited “people familiar with the deal” and no immediate comment from Tsai—nor, since then, any attempt at refutation. NetsDaily noted that Tsai's company BSE Global declined comment.
Second round
That wasn’t everything.
New York Condo Sells for Close to $190 Million; Hedge-Fund Billionaire Doubles His Money, the Wall Street Journal reported 1/13/22, noting that the “four-bedroom penthouse spans about 9,800 square feet,” the seller was Dan Ochs, and “ the buyer’s identity couldn’t be determined.”
Six days later after the WSJ report, Bloomberg added the buyer, reporting that Joe Tsai's Family Office Pays $188 Million for Dan Och's NYC Penthouse.
Blue Pool paid $188 million for the 220 Central Park South property, according to city documents, with the payment including a 19th floor maid’s room, which the New York Times, in a 1/28/22 article, said was a 545-square-foot studio.
The buyer was not Blue Pool per se, but Hennessy Square LLC, c/o Sullivan & Cromwell. However, the $71.5 million mortgage, again with JPMorgan Chase, was taken out by Hennessy Square, c/o Blue Pool Capital, based in Hong Kong, thus identifying Tsai. Hirsch was again the lawyer on both transactions.
The Penthouse had sold, in contract signed in May 2015 but not consummated until December 2019, for $92.7 million. (The offering plan hadn't listed a price.) The “maid’s room,” in a contract signed in June 2018 but not consummated until December 2019, had sold for $2.1 million. In other words, Tsai paid $93.2 million more than the previous combined sale—nearly double.
The purchases in both cases represent big paydays for the sellers, but the Tsais have enough money not to worry. The Tsais could buy themselves views. To quote City Realty, “220 is one of the few towers that will grant nearly all its residents full-length views of Central Park.”
First purchases
In July 19, 2021, CNBC reported that Tsai “purchased two full-floor condo apartments at 220 Central Park South in two transactions totaling $157.5 million,” citing unnamed sources.
In “Manhattan’s most prestigious condo tower,” CNBC said, “Tsai’s purchase spans two floors (the 60th and one above) and has sweeping views of Central Park and mid-town Manhattan. The deal also includes a studio apartment on the 18th floor, likely for staff.“
The article cited “people familiar with the deal” and no immediate comment from Tsai—nor, since then, any attempt at refutation. NetsDaily noted that Tsai's company BSE Global declined comment.
On July 21, 2021, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, in an article about the couple’s charitable efforts, stated that “Wu Tsai’s representatives said they could not confirm” the CNBC report. (My queries last week to both the lawyer on the purchases and Tsai's investment fund went unanswered.)
The contract for Unit 61 cites a $75 million sale price, while the contract for Unit 60, plus the studio 18J, cites an $82.5 million sale price. (Unit 60 had initially sold for $50,912,500, in a deal struck in 2015. That was a little above the $47 million offering price.)
The contract for Unit 61 cites a $75 million sale price, while the contract for Unit 60, plus the studio 18J, cites an $82.5 million sale price. (Unit 60 had initially sold for $50,912,500, in a deal struck in 2015. That was a little above the $47 million offering price.)
The two large units are 5,935 square feet each, with the studio 474 square feet, according to the condo offering plan. In both cases, the buyer was Chancery Lane LLC, with an address via the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where Tsai began his legal career. The attorney Alison Hirsch represented the buyer.
Hirsch signed, on behalf of the LLC, mortgage documents with JPMorgan Chase: $32.5 million for Unit 61, and $33.5 million for Units 60 and 18J.
Hirsch signed, on behalf of the LLC, mortgage documents with JPMorgan Chase: $32.5 million for Unit 61, and $33.5 million for Units 60 and 18J.
Second round
That wasn’t everything.
New York Condo Sells for Close to $190 Million; Hedge-Fund Billionaire Doubles His Money, the Wall Street Journal reported 1/13/22, noting that the “four-bedroom penthouse spans about 9,800 square feet,” the seller was Dan Ochs, and “ the buyer’s identity couldn’t be determined.”
Six days later after the WSJ report, Bloomberg added the buyer, reporting that Joe Tsai's Family Office Pays $188 Million for Dan Och's NYC Penthouse.
Blue Pool paid $188 million for the 220 Central Park South property, according to city documents, with the payment including a 19th floor maid’s room, which the New York Times, in a 1/28/22 article, said was a 545-square-foot studio.
The buyer was not Blue Pool per se, but Hennessy Square LLC, c/o Sullivan & Cromwell. However, the $71.5 million mortgage, again with JPMorgan Chase, was taken out by Hennessy Square, c/o Blue Pool Capital, based in Hong Kong, thus identifying Tsai. Hirsch was again the lawyer on both transactions.
The Penthouse had sold, in contract signed in May 2015 but not consummated until December 2019, for $92.7 million. (The offering plan hadn't listed a price.) The “maid’s room,” in a contract signed in June 2018 but not consummated until December 2019, had sold for $2.1 million. In other words, Tsai paid $93.2 million more than the previous combined sale—nearly double.
It is the largest, though not the highest, of the building’s three penthouses.
Blue Pool = Tsai
While no one confirmed the connection to the Times, it noted that the penthouse buyer, Hennessy Square LLC, “is linked to Blue Pool Capital, a Hong Kong-based asset manager that holds part of the fortunes of Mr. Tsai and [Alibaba founder] Mr. [Jack] Ma.”
That wasn’t quite true, either. NetsDaily, in Jan. 22, 2022 coverage, noted that a “spokesperson for Tsai says reports” that Blue Pool Capital also invests for Ma were inaccurate, and that Blue Pool solely invests for Tsai.
That wasn’t quite true, either. NetsDaily, in Jan. 22, 2022 coverage, noted that a “spokesperson for Tsai says reports” that Blue Pool Capital also invests for Ma were inaccurate, and that Blue Pool solely invests for Tsai.
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