A townhouse located on East 71st Street near Madison Avenue set the New York City price record this weekend when it was listed at $75 million. The current resident of this 45-foot-wide building, the Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, is offering the property years before its lease ends in the face of imminent bankruptcy. The house measures 22,000 square feet and dates from the 1920s, when it was built by C.P.H. Gilbert (renowned by wealthy families at the time) for a prominent German merchant. The house features an elegant sweeping staircase, vaulted ceilings, massive amounts of skylight luminance, marble fireplaces, and intricate moldings throughout.
Yet beyond the breathtaking opulence and cost, the most interesting aspect of the property is its need of work. Apparently the upper floors have been in use as office space and require a bit of polish, an amusing feature for such a luxurious listing. The current Manhattan price record has held at $53 million since the 2004 purchase of Harkness Mansion. Whether or not this $75 million target price is hit remains to be seen, but owner Aby Rosen is doubtful to be losing any sleep. When the property was last purchased in 2004, it went for what now seems a paltry $15.65 million.
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April 14, 2008Estate of the Day: St. John
