One local mystery has been solved, thanks to the Wall Street Journal: the owner of the townhouse planned for 11 Hubert is tech billionaire Robert J. Pera, who has been collecting trophy homes here and across the country. Pera also owns the NBA team the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Journal reports that he already picked up the last penthouse at the Jenga building, 56 Leonard, a 5,250-square-foot unit that had been originally reserved for one of the buildings developers, the story says.

On Hubert, Pera retained the Seattle architect Eric Cobb to rework plans done originally by local architect Bill Bialosky and his partner Maya Lin; the big change was a first floor facade and its metal screen designed to protect the privacy of the new resident. Pera bought the site for nearly $20 million from technology executive Adam Zoia.

The screen caused some consternation from CB1, where Landmarks committee member Bruce Ehrmann said, “The lower levels looked like the ramparts of a medieval fort.” It was ultimately approved by the Landmarks Commission in May, after the architect made modifications to the glass panels on Hubert, the shutters and the cornice to make it more in keeping with the landmark district. The cornices were changed from grey to black, and the shutters now have vertical details instead of horizontal ones.

Wow. I appreciate the details as much as the next guy, but I hope that was worth having that lot stay empty and derelict for the past four years.