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According to numerous sources, the Liberal government has purchased a 3,600-square-foot condo in the New York neighbourhood known as Billionaire’s Row to serve as the new official residence of Tom Clark, the Consul General of Canada in New York.
The property is on the 11th floor of 111 West 57th Street, just south of Central Park in Manhattan. The price was US$6.6 million, or about $9 million Canadian, though the real estate site StreetEasy notes that as recently as September of 2022 the unit had been listed at more than US$10 million.
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The building was completed in 2021. At 84 storeys and 435 metres, it is the fourth tallest building in the United States, after One World Trade Center and Central Park Tower in New York, and the Willis Tower in Chicago.
According to an article on the luxury real estate site Mansion Global, the buyer is named as His Majesty The King In Right of Canada Represented By The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a standard designation. The deed was signed by Robert McCubbing, a commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in New York, which is part of Global Affairs Canada.
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The new address replaces the previous Consul General’s residence at 550 Park Ave., about three blocks away. That was purchased in 1961 and needed significant renovation, according to a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada.
“Considering the high renovation costs for the current residence and the value of the property, Global Affairs Canada recommended a relocation to a new, smaller, more suitable, and more economical apartment,” the spokesperson told Mansion Global. The National Post has contacted Global Affairs for additional comments.
According to a Government of Canada website, the New York Consul General’s office provides citizenship, notarial, passport and visa services, as well as information on studying abroad and assistance in voting abroad. One of several consulate general and trade offices in the U.S., the New York location also serves Canadians in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania and Bermuda.
Opposition house leader Andrew Scheer posted to X: “While Canadians can’t afford a home because the Trudeau government has doubled housing costs, Trudeau spent $6.6 million on a luxury apartment on Billionaires Row for his retired media buddy that he appointed Consul General,” adding. “Trudeau is not worth the cost.”
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Clark, the current Counsel General, was named by Trudeau in 2022. Prior to his appointment, he was chair of Global Public Affairs, a large Canadian strategic communications firm. Before that, he had a decades-long career as a journalist.
In a statement provided to the CBC, Global Affairs said it makes decisions on residences for “Heads of Mission” (ambassadors, high commissioners, consuls general etc.) with a consideration of the importance of the mission in the network.
“The residence currently used for the Head of Mission and Consul General in New York was purchased in 1961,” the statement said. “Last refurbished in 1982, the apartment does not meet new building codes nor (Global Affairs’) standards.”
The property’s listing at StreetEasy notes “an elegant entry foyer (with) white macauba stone floors, and the stunning powder room is finished in jewel onyx.” It also mentions “custom smoke gray oak floors in a parquet pattern.” The condo includes three bedrooms, a study and four-and-a-half bathrooms, including one “clad in Italian white Venato marble” and featuring “a free-standing copper soaking tub handcrafted by William Holland, and custom bronze fixtures by P.E. Guerin.”
Building amenities include a 25-metre, two-lane swimming pool with private cabanas, separate sauna and treatment rooms, a fitness centre, a residents’ lounge, and access to a padel court, a golf simulator and a children’s play room.
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