A four-bedroom residence in Manhattan’s historic Pierre Hotel hit the market this week for $65 million—nearly triple what its well-heeled owner paid for it four years ago.
Charlene Haroche, the widow of travel tycoon Gilbert Haroche, founder of Liberty Travel, bought the co-op in the hotel, a neo-Renaissance tower overlooking Central Park, in 2015 for $22.9 million, according to property records, and has since totally renovated the apartment.
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The Pierre Hotel apartment marked a downsize for Ms. Haroche, who bought it a few months after she and her late husband sold their seven-bedroom sprawl at the Sherry-Netherland—another exclusive building, located next door—for $67 million, records show. She could not be reached for comment.
Listing photos from before and after Ms. Haroche’s ownership show how she transformed the Pierre unit from an old-school Fifth Avenue co-op into a more modern aerie. She opened up the apartment’s labyrinthine floor plan by knocking down walls to expand the master bathroom and kitchen, floor plans show.
The renovation took about two years and has just completed, said listing agent Lisa Simonsen of Douglas Elliman, who called the home “jaw-droppingly beautiful.”
Among the most significant parts of its reimagination was the entryway. The private, French marble-clad elevator landing now leads to an elegant set of glass front doors with decorative wrought-iron flourishes, according to the listing agent.
There’s also a whole new kitchen, which Ms. Haroche nearly doubled in size by knocking through a former staff room on one side and breakfast nook on the other.
A modern splash of glossy turquoise paint, gold accents and the addition of a sculptural chandelier gave a major facelift to a formerly drab, wood-paneled library. The colorful room adds a pop to an apartment that Ms. Haroche has mostly decorated in a palette of off-whites and polished stone hues.
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“As real estate agents, seeing so many homes, we get a little blasé,” said Ms. Simonsen, jogging her mind for the right word. “So it’s so much fun when you have a listing like this. It’s really a showstopper.”
She credited the owner with conceiving the entire redesign of the home.
“She just has impeccable taste,” the agent said. “Whoever purchases this will absolutely not change a thing.”