It Happened One Weekend: Canal Clean-Up, Grand Theft Soho, More

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1) Some European big shot at the clothing company Esprit wanted to buy the old Plaza Hotel Astor Suite (right) so badly that he went into contract in December 2005, the first person to put pen to paper for the Plaza's condos. He finally closed last week on the $27 million apartment, and he even managed to get them to leave some of the original's gaudiness. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]

2) The $31 million triplex purchase at One Madison Park may not actually be a "downtown" record, because the buyer—British designer and developer Paul Davies—may break the space up into separate apartments. When the $45 million penthouse sells, however, there will be no argument. Also, the building is 95% sold. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]

3) The Gowanus Canal will always smell like shit, but eventually it will smell slightly less like shit than it does now, and far less like shit than it used to. So get those luxury condos up, boys! [The City/Alex Mindlin]

4) Some dude tried to file fake deeds with the city to steal the Soho Grand. How awesome is that? Too bad you can go to jail for it. [AP]

5) Examining the rising trend of co-op and brownstone apartment owners purchasing the roof rights of their buildings for some hot expansion action. How non-standardized are these sales? The rooftop square-footage usually sells for anywhere from 15% to 50% of the price-per-square-foot value of the owners' existing apartment. ['Through the Roof'/Vivian S. Toy]

6) A couple of investment bankers start out complaining that they can't find anything nice within their $7,000/month budget, then end up with what sounds like the coolest place in the world—an 1889 carriage house tucked away in the West Village. Boo-hoo! [The Hunt/Joyce Cohen]

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