In New York, Fashion's Vacca Cuts Price to $8.9 Million

By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS
Fashion designer Domenico Vacca, who bought and renovated a New York City condominium earlier this year, and then relisted it, has now reduced the price to $8.9 million -- still 45% more than he paid.
In February, Mr. Vacca and his wife, Julie, paid $6.15 million for the unit, in the Museum Tower, and first listed the apartment for $9.5 million this summer. (In the 1980s, architect Cesar Pelli designed the Museum Tower, on top of the Museum of Modern Art's existing galleries, as part of an expansion plan.) With park and city views, the 3,250-square-foot unit has three bedrooms, three travertine-marble bathrooms and a large dressing room, according to the listing. The apartment can also be rented for $35,000 a month with a one-year minimum lease.
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Italian-born Mr. Vacca is known for his ties, bags and custom suits. At the 2007 Oscars, he dressed Best Actor-winner Forest Whitaker. Mr. Vacca has opened a handful of stores.
Carrie Chiang, of Corcoran Group, has the listing.
Qatar Sheikh Offers Big Apple Apartment
Elsewhere in Manhattan, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Thani, of Qatar, has listed his three-bedroom apartment at Trump Park Avenue for $14 million. Mr. Al-Thani paid $6.1 million for the 3,300-square-foot condo in 2005, according to property records.
On the fourth floor with east and southern exposures and full city views, the apartment has marble bathrooms, herringbone wood floors, walk-in closets and 11-foot ceilings.
The apartment is rented through June for $30,000 a month, and the building (pictured left) has maid service, valet service, a health club and closed-circuit security monitors, according to the listing. Carrie Chiang and Alexa Tirado, of Corcoran Group, have the sheikh's listing.
Meanwhile, Yankee Alex Rodriguez is asking $10 million for his renovated 4,600-square-foot unit in the same building. The All-Star third baseman originally asked $14 million for the home. Adam Modlin, of Modlin Group, has that listing.
The Federal Reserve Board's Dec. 3 "beige book," citing "a major residential appraisal firm," said that Manhattan apartment prices have fallen by 15% to 20% since midsummer, though thin volume muddied the picture.
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Trump Park Avenue
Hollywood Producer Furla Asks $3.5 Million in Chicago
Hollywood producer George Furla wants $3.5 million for his unfinished penthouse apartment in downtown Chicago. The listing calls him a "motivated seller."
Mr. Furla's long résumé includes this year's iteration of "Rambo" and "Righteous Kill," starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Mr. Furla paid $3.15 million for the unit in 2005. The apartment is in the Fordham building on the Gold Coast, an area along Michigan Avenue that's home to a raft of new luxury condo developments. The producer's 6,200-square-foot, 50th-floor unit has a 1,500-square-foot terrace.
The listing says plans to finish the unit have been approved, but Mr. Furla never acted on them and is selling the space raw. The building has a bike room, doorman, a gym and other services. In 2005, actor John Cusack paid $2.9 million for a 45th-floor condo in the Fordham. Oprah Winfrey bought an apartment in a building nearby.
Tricia Fox, of KW Luxury Homes, has Mr. Furla's listing.