Former Israeli real estate entrepreneur Michael Shvo has purchased a site in New York City for the highest price ever paid in Manhattan for land for construction: $23.5 million.
Shvo, who has been named one of New York's leading real estate agents in the past, is today an art collector and real estate entrepreneur specializing in luxury homes. In each of his real estate projects he uses top designers like Philippe Starck. He owns sculptures created by Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami and others.
The site is located on 10th Avenue and covers over 17,300 square feet.
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Artist from New Zealand pays $1.3 million for 60-square-meter apartment in luxurious residential tower near neighborhood of Neve Tzedek. Huge flat on Hayarkon Street bought for as much as $22.5 million
Shvo plans to build art-themed luxury apartments on the Manhattan site, due to its proximity to New York's famous art galleries.
"This is such a luxurious location that it cannot be measured in money," Shvo says. "In the heart of New York's world of art, we will bring to the project the best talents in the field to create a new level of super-luxurious living."
Shvo was raised in the community of Arsuf, north of Tel Aviv, by parents who are both professors of chemistry. He arrived in New York in the early 2000s after completing his military service in Israel and studying for a BA in finance at Bar-Ilan University. He became successful as a real estate agent, rising to fame thanks to well-known clients like Donald Trump and Beny Steinmetz.
He later became an entrepreneur. His luxury residential development company, Shvo, which has offices on 5th Avenue above the Prada store, initiates projects for luxury homes worldwide – from Dubai to the United States. According to the company, since 2004 it has conducted transactions around the world at a total value of $15 billion.