Howard Gittis' Palm Beach home under contract
The late Howard Gittis, who shaped many an acquisition in his years as vice chairman of Revlon parent MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, would no doubt be pleased at the deal his estate has consummated on the sale of 200 Via Palma.
The contract price has not been disclosed but is said to be about $22 million, not much below the listing price of $23.5 million. More impressive is its short stay on the market - less than six weeks.
Designed in 1952 by Marion Sims Wyeth, the home was listed about Dec. 1 with Paulette Koch and Dana Koch of The Corcoran Group. Gittis' estate put it on the market less than three months after his sudden death at his home in
Betsy Green, a
Goldman led a group that put up most of the $125 million equity to back developer Larry Silverstein's purchase of the 99-year lease on the
In the short time that 200 Via
She said the quick sale resulted from proper pricing. "A lot of thought and time went into deliberations with the family."
Records at the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office show Gittis bought the waterfront compound in 2001 for $9.95 million.
Koch said that during the six weeks, she and her son, Dana, showed it almost daily - sometimes twice a day. "It got quite a reception, because people perceived the value."
The house was sold unfurnished. She said Gittis' extensive art collection is worth much more than the house.
That "stellar contemporary art collection" was the focus of a recent feature on the irreverent "Real Estalker" blog.
The blogger cited works by Damien Hirst (over the fireplace in the dining room), Peter Halley (living room), Gary Hume (back wall, loggia), Willem de Kooning (over the fireplace of the master bedroom), some Warhols, a Picasso and a few Fernando Boteros.
"Jeezis Mary and Joseph, a tour through this house is like going to the damn
Gittis, whose roles were not limited to corporate attorney and executive, was chairman of the board of trustees at
In August 2000, he set a county record for nonoceanfront property when he sold his landmarked mansion on Via
The next assignment for his estate: selling Gittis' sprawling summer compound on