Canada lists old NYC residence for $13M, surpassing cost of new luxury condo

Canada is selling its former Manhattan residence, which used to house its consulate general in New York.

The 12-room, five-bedroom apartment located on Park Avenue was listed Thursday at over $13 million, which is expected to exceed the purchase of its new $9-million Manhattan condo located on Billionaires' Row.

Global Affairs Canada said the new condo is smaller and more suitable. It said the old unit, which was purchased in 1961 and last renovated in 1982, needed updates to the electrical, heating, ventilation and plumbing.

It also did not comply with the 2021 Accessible Canada Act, which mandates barrier-free environments, a spokesperson said in a statement.

The department says the new condo will save Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce ongoing maintenance costs and property taxes while supporting future program needs.

But the Opposition Conservatives said that only Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and «his wasteful Liberal government would believe it was a better deal to quadruple the cost to taxpayers and buy a new luxury condo for $9 million instead of making repairs.»

Concerns about the Park Avenue apartment were first raised in 2014.

Seven years later, Global Affairs Canada approved renovations at a cost of $1.8 million, but the project was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, recent documents submitted to the House committee on government operations and estimates show.

Global Affairs Canada said in a letter to the committee that months after the new consulate general to New York was appointed, they had identified new issues with the old residence.

That included accessibility problems, lack of separation between family and work space, and restrictions on events that the co-operative board had imposed on