The Dubrovnik Times - A six-bedroom luxury apartment in New York, known as “Tito’s Apartment” has been sold for $12 million. The Serbian government have confirmed that the Manhattan apartment is in the process of being sold and that the proceeds will be divided among the former Yugoslav countries.

In 1975 the Yugoslavian government bought the apartment for $100,000 and it was mainly used by Yugoslav ambassadors, although Josip Tito also stayed there on several occasions. However, since 1992 the apartment has been empty with the Serbian government paying for running costs and maintenance, believed to be around $14,000 a month, therefore they will receive 40 percent of the sale price with the remainder being split between Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The initial asking price for the Manhattan address was $20 million.

The Park Avenue address has certainly fallen into disrepair since its golden days and the cost of rebuilding the apartment are likely to run into millions. With six bedrooms, five bathrooms, three balconies and a library there is certainly plenty of space for the new owner to spread out.

The mansion built in 1904 was first owned by Robert Livingston Beeckman, the governor of Long Island. Later in 1912, the home was sold to George Grant Manson, whilst Vanderbilt’s granddaughter Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White and her husband, Henry White, bought it in 1925. When the rich heirless died in 1946, her estate was bought by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1947.

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which landmarked the property in 1966, called it a “superb example of the French classic style of Louis XV.”

When Yugoslavia took possession of the property, the New York Times reported, “It is considered one of the finest private homes remaining on Fifth Avenue”.

After an assassination attempt against the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in 1963, the mansion, with its bulletproof windows overlooking the Central Park, was also used as a temporary hiding place for Tito.

The new owner has yet to be revealed, although reports suggest that a businessman from Vietnam has paid the asking price.

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