A buyer has a deal to snatch up the most expensive co-op in the city’s history — a breathtaking Upper East Side penthouse for a whopping $70 million.
The sprawling prewar pad that belonged to late billionaire beverage honcho Edgar Bronfman Sr. hit the market last month, prompting a bidding war between two well-heeled clients, real-estate sources said.
A first would-be buyer was about to plunk down the $65 million asking price for the home, on Fifth Avenue between East 77th and East 78th streets, when the mystery buyer swooped in and offered an extra $5 million, the sources said.
If the contract goes through, the sale would top entertainment mogul David Geffen’s $54 million Fifth Avenue penthouse as the priciest co-op ever to sell in the Big Apple.
Bronfman’s glamorous, five-bedroom, eight-bathroom pad features a “wraparound” outdoor terrace complete with stunning Central Park views — but it’s also a bit of a fixer-upper, a real-estate source said.
Whoever buys it will need to drop millions for a new floor plan and a more modern look, the source sad.
“The apartment needs work. It needs a complete gut renovation. It is nothing like what you would build today. It doesn’t have the right flow,” the source said.
Even with its quirks, the size and location alone make it special.
“It is one of the city’s true treasures . . . It is an extraordinarily large-size apartment in one of the best buildings on Fifth Avenue,” the real-estate source said.
The mystery buyer — who will pay $19,092 a month in monthly maintenance fees — can enjoy catering service for lunch and dinner and access to the private party room, The Georgian Suite.
Bronfman, a chairman of the alcohol distilling company Seagram, died in December at age 84. He lived in the apartment for about 40 years.
The home, at 960 Fifth Ave., was on the market for 27 days. The real-estate firm Brown Harris Stevens posted the listing.