Hot Gossip
Marc Jacobs
This week the New York Post reports that the ubiquitous Marc Jacobs and his partner recently closed on a Bethune Street Townhouse. The property is part of the very chic West Village Superior Ink Condominium development.
Supposedly they paid 10.4 million dollars for 4400 square feet of raw space. The house has the highly desired celebrity amenity; direct access to underground parking.
Buying it raw was a smart move. Now he can design a house to his fabulous taste and at the same time access the highest level of service the West Village has to offer.
Samuel Jackson
While trying to make an appointment for one of our clients, we heard that there were multiple bids on apartment 2A at 76 Crosby Street. I wasn’t suprised. It is in a desirable building on a very hip street.
Crosby Street is one of my favorite streets in Soho and we have sold quite a few lofts there over the years.
According to the NY Post, it turns out that Samuel L. Jackson’s bid was the one accepted, even though it was not the highest number, of 4.1MM on the $4.35 list price. We suspect it was an all cash sale.
Samuel Jackson will be joining Kelly Ripa in the building and Lenny Kravitz on the street, along with alumni such as Nicole Kidman, Madonna and Basquait.
Julianne Moore
It appears that long time village resident Julianne Moore has put her house on the market. I hope this doesn’t mean she is leaving us for good. Maybe she just needs more space for the family. Stay posted.
Welcome Back Bruce?
This past weekend, newly wedded Bruce Willis and model wife Emma Heming were spotted searching for apartments. They checked out One Central Park West, a building where Willis once owned a home. They were also seen nearby at Fifteen Central Park West. If they decide to live at the prestigious Fifteen CPW they will be in good company, with celebrity neighbors like Sting and the crème de la crème of New York’s business world. Welcome back Bruce!
Richard Prince
Richard Prince, creator of many iconic images such as the one above, entitled “The Blue Cowboy’s”, has just purchased a townhouse at 57 East 78th Street. The house was originally offered at fifteen million dollars and he negotiated it down to eleven and a half million. He joins the ranks of other savvy New Yorkers who are bargain hunting in this market.
Matt Damon’s House Hunt
Matt Damon’s most recent pit stop on his search for a new home has been at 1030 Fifth Avenue. It’s surprising to believe that the 9,000 square-foot, eight bedroom, four-fireplace home, with a view of Central Park has plummeted in price from $47.5 million to $19.9 million. Yet another drastic price drop we have seen in the past few months.
640 Park Avenue
What can I say? I love rooms and 640 Park is a good a collection as you will find anywhere in the world. Designed by James Carpenter and occupied since 1914, it is one of the ‘grande dames’ of New York City real estate. A building that we all can aspire to live in but few ever will even if they have the money.
Carpenter is the father of the modern apartment floor plan. In essence he created the blueprint for future successful residential buildings, developing and perfecting the ‘off the foyer’ layout. In larger spaces such as the one above this means a library off the entrance gallery. In smaller apartments the foyer acts as a central hub for the entire home.
It is hard to convey the grandeur of a room from a floor plan. At 640 Park the ceilings are high and the hallways are wide. Seven feet wide in the main hall and four feet wide in the servants wing. For perspective, the standard width of a New York City hallway is three feet. The only negative is that by today’s standards the bathrooms might be considered cramped and they cannot be enlarged as per the rules of the co-op.
Last Fall, after the demise of Lehman brothers, Dick Fuld briefly listed his apartment at $32,000,000 for sale, withdrawing it days later. Rumor has it that even though not publicly on the market, the Fuld’s are mulling over an offer around the $27,000,000 mark. Maybe he wants to make sure the buyer is board passable before accepting; this is Park Avenue after all. Back in the 1970’s, the building made the news when it famously blocked a sale to Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
The last sale that we could find was back in 2005, when Millard Drexel of JCrew fame was approved on his purchase of a full floor for $20,000,000. It seems the recession is far from the doors of this New York landmark.
Photo Credits: luxist.com
Time Warner penthouse-sold!
Max Abelson reported this week that the penthouse at the Time Warner just closed for $37.5 million dollars. A steep drop from the original asking price of 65mil. However, just an 18% decline in price per square foot from a 75th floor apartment that closed in January 2008.
In 2003 Gerhard Andlinger was barred from serving as a public company’s director or officer for five years as part of a settlement with the SEC over insider trading allegations. In 2005 he purchased the Time Warner penthouse for 25million. A 12.5 million dollar profit after four years. All in all a good investment.
Is Carrie moving to Brooklyn?
This morning I read in the ‘Gimme Shelter’ column in The Post, that it is rumored Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are the secret owners of a rather spectacular house on Prospect House West, Brooklyn, formerly owned by Jennifer Connelly. Ever since Jennifer left, her neighbors have been feeling just a little less hip; spotting her kids at the 9th street playground was a favorite pastime for the ’ever upward’ parents of Park Slope. After getting jilted by Jennifer, will Sarah be the rebound girl or will she stay forever?
Madonna gets a ‘deal’
When it was reported in the New York Post that Madonna had gone to contract on a house East of Lexington Avenue, the snort of derision from the elite uptown brokerage community could be heard all the way back to her hometown of Bay City Michigan. The location was described as the ‘outer fringes’ of the Upper East Side by Josh Barbanel in the New York Times
It all makes more sense when according to The Mirror, we read that Madonna is pretty torn up that she had to turn over her beloved Ashcombe Manor to Guy Ritchie in her recent divorce. Apparently she is looking to reproduce that lifestlye right here in New York City. Will Madge be spotted feeding chickens in the garden?
Her new Georgian style house is one of the widest in Manhattan at 57 feet. It has 26 rooms , nine fireplaces ,a 38 foot wide drawing room and 3000 square foot garden. All a Material girl needs for a Country Life in the city.
It also turns out that she was a savvy negotiator, paying 32.5mil, not the 40mil as rumored. A whopping 28% off the original 45mil asking price.
Photo: Madonna at Ashcombe house (Vogue Magazine)
