Christie’s $197 million auctions from Gerald Fineberg’s art collection were just the icing on a much larger fortune. In addition to the treasure trove of paintings, sculptures and photographs spanning a century, the real estate mogul, who died in December, left behind costly digs in Boston and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Together, the two properties are listed at nearly $70 million, each a near-record asking price for its respective market.
Born in Portland, Maine, Fineberg called Boston home after serving in the United States Navy. In 1961, he started a real estate business, The Fineberg Companies, specializing in residential and commercial properties in the greater Boston area.
Fineberg’s 8,360 square foot residence at the Mandarin Oriental Boston has been listed for $29 million by Campion and Company in April. It has four bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms and two private balconies with 360 degree views of Back Bay. The promotional photos feature artwork, many of which have since sold at Christie’s in May. Others, including Warhol’s shoes, are not yet available.
“The apartments were designed to display art,” said a person who knew Fineberg. “It was not comfortable. You lived in a gallery.
Nicholas Karne, Sandra Fineberg and Jerry Fineberg, right, attend David Yurman’s presentation of sponsors for the Institute of Contemporary Art on May 9, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Gail Oskin/WireImage)
Fineberg and his second wife, Sandra, moved into their Mandarin shortly after the luxury building was completed in 2008, combining three units into a sprawling apartment outfitted “for an accomplished collector,” according to the listing. Before that, they lived in a townhouse in Boston’s Tony Beacon Hill neighborhood, which they sold with a Frank Stella painting that was too big to move, according to the person who knew Fineberg.
The Mandarin property features museum-quality lighting and “singular innovations for art exhibits, including sliding walls to accommodate rotating collections for smaller rooms, floating walls lit from above and below, and large, double-wide hallways for optimal viewing,” according to the listing.
The asking price makes it the second most expensive residence for sale in Boston, according to Campion and Company. Another condo in Boston is currently offered at $38 million. In 2016, a penthouse in the city’s Millennium Tower sold for $35 million, according to public records.
In recent years, Fineberg has come under fire, as its tenants repeatedly protested the supposedly squalid conditions and steep rent hikes in scion buildings, dubbing Fineberg, who was a member of the board of administration of the Rose Museum and patron of the ICA Boston, “Slumlord of the Board”, according to a HyperAllergic report.
Bristol Condominiums in West Palm Beach, Florida, via Google Earth
Meanwhile, Fineberg’s estate is asking $39.95 million for 9,232 square feet of land. penthouse in the luxurious building known as Bristol in West Palm Beach. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and wrap-around balconies with stunning ocean views.
The apartment was purchased for $17.6 million in 2019 when the building was completed, property records show. The building holds the record for West Palm Beach’s most expensive residential sale by value, with a $42.56 million unit sold in 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal. Another Bristol condo is currently listed for sale at $23.9 million.
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