Two Places Change Hands at Envied 820 Fifth

One of the country's most successful home-builders may soon be filling a vacancy at one of the city's most exclusive co-op buildings. Ara K. Hovnanian, the president and chief executive of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., has signed a contract for around $20 million to buy an apartment at 820 Fifth Avenue. The fourth-floor co-op, which has a jaw-dropping 100 feet of frontage on Fifth Avenue, currently belongs to Lily Safra, the widow of slain financier Edmond Safra.

In other news at the same building, The Observer has learned that Jack Levy, co-chairman of mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs, is the buyer in the previously reported sale of late Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos' eighth-floor apartment in the building. Niarchos died in 1996, and the $15 million deal to sell his apartment closed about six months ago. Mr. Levy declined to comment on the deal.

His potential neighbor, Mr. Hovnanian, has yet to appear before the board at 820 Fifth, which is considered one of the three or four most sought-after cooperatives in New York. There is only one apartment on each of the building's 12 stories, and each 6,500-square-foot unit has the same 100 feet of frontage on Fifth Avenue. Current residents include socialite and board president Jayne Wrightsman, gallery owner William Acquavella and Yahoo chief Terry Semel.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., which was founded in 1959 by Kevork Hovnanian, Mr. Hovnanian's father and the company's current chairman, is headquartered in Red Bank, N.J., and is that state's largest builder of single-family homes and condos. The company has operations across the eastern United States, as well as in Texas and California. Fortune magazine recently ranked the company 15th on its list of fastest-growing companies, with revenues of $2.84 billion.

Ara Hovnanian is seeking the fourth-floor apartment that Ms. Safra purchased in 2000 from Tommy Hilfiger. Ms. Safra, who lives in the building's penthouse, has kept the fourth-floor apartment vacant. Listing broker Victoria Cote, a vice president at the Corcoran Group, had no comment on the deal; nor did Mr. Hovnanian's broker, Jill Roosevelt of Brown Harris Stevens. Calls to Hovnanian Enterprises were not returned before press time. Sources close to the building say that Mr. Levy, the new owner of the building's eighth floor, has yet to move into the apartment. Mr. Levy was appointed to his current position as co-chairman of mergers and acquisitions in 2000.