The Four Seasons penthouse is finally up for sale
The owners of the penthouse at Toronto’s Four Seasons Residences have never been able to enjoy the place. Robert Oesterlund, a Finnish businessman who made a fortune on internet ads and browser toolbars, initially planned to live in the opulent sky palace with his wife, Sarah Pursglove. They agreed to buy the unit from the developer for about $23 million (before HST) in 2011. The space was sold as an empty shell, so they embarked on a multi-million-dollar interior renovation. In 2014, before they had closed on the property, Pursglove claims she discovered Oesterlund was having an affair.
In the bitter divorce proceedings that followed (which were notably chronicled in the New York Times Magazine), the penthouse became a bargaining chip. Oesterlund manoeuvred to conceal his ownership of the unit, using layers of offshore shell corporations. Pursglove successfully sued for a freeze on Oesterlund’s assets, preventing him from selling the penthouse or any other property that could be traced back to him.
According to Bloomberg, Pursglove says she has now taken full ownership of the penthouse, as a condition of a confidential marital settlement. And now, at last, the penthouse is on the market, with an asking price of $36,000,000, or approximately $4,000 per square foot.
The interior was designed by Bill Mockler. There are 12-foot ceilings and four bedrooms, including a master suite with his and hers bathrooms and two walk-in closets. The penthouse has four balconies, plus a sauna with a skyline vista. Because the unit takes up the entire top floor of the Four Seasons’ west tower, it has 360-degree views of the city. (The building, at 50 Yorkville Avenue, is home to a who’s who of wealthy and notable Torontonians.)
The listing agent, Jimmy Molloy, believes the immense asking price is justified by the unit’s unique opulence. “Once you get to these stratospheric levels, there really are no parameters,” he said. “There aren’t any comparables.”
Here’s the study, with built-in desk and shelving:
The dining area, with some ultra-high-backed chairs:
The living room and kitchen:
A closer look at the kitchen:
