Spread over five floors and equipped with a waterslide that leads from the dance floor into the infinity pool, the Monaco penthouse may become the world’s most expensive apartment when it goes on sale next year at an asking price of €300 million.
Described as the “ultimate home between the sea and the sky”, the 3,300-square metre penthouse is the jewel on the crown of the Tour Odéon, a 49-storey tall luxury tower fitted with 70 super-sized apartments perched on Monaco’s shoreline on the French Riviera.
Developed by Monégasque luxury real estate firm Groupe Marzocco, in collaboration with architectAlexandre Giraldi and interior designer Alberto Pinto, the skyscraper is said to be the first to be built in the tiny principality since the 1980’s when the construction of tall buildings was limited due to concerns they would ruin Monaco’s picturesque coastline.
But faced with a housing shortage and soaring market prices, Prince Albert II gave the project the go-ahead five years ago.
At an altitude of 170-metres, the penthouse includes a kitchen on each of its five floors, five bedrooms, a living-room, a dining area, a home cinema and an infinity pool.
‘Five-star-hotel experience’
With services such as an in-house luxury caterer, a 24/7 concierge and a chauffeured limousine service, future residents of the tower are promised a “five-star-hotel experience on a daily basis”.
The tower is also equipped with a hammam, a spa, a gym, a private movie room and a lounge.
According to French daily Le Figaro, eight out of the 20 apartments that have been put on sale so far have fetched between €55,000 and €70,000 per square metre.
But, the same newspaper said, the construction of the skyscraper has also stirred up a fair share of controversy. In 2012, French cable news channel LCI reported that five people linked to the real estate project had been placed under formal investigation for suspected corruption, money laundering and other charges.
There have also been complaints filed by residents in the small French city of Beausoleil, which borders Monaco, saying the skyscraper is disrupting their views.
The tower is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, and the penthouse is expected to go on sale in 2015.
If it fetches the staggering list price of €300 million, the penthouse will become the most expensive apartment in the world – by far outshining rivals like the smaller CitySpire penthouse in New York which has been on sale since 2012 with a cool price tag of $100 million (€76 million).