Serial trophy-property hoarder Michael Hirtenstein is at it again, and this time he's buying another Curbed favorite. Page Six reports that the Big Hirt, fresh off closing on his One York bachelor palace and selling off the gorgeous 23 Gramercy Park South, is the buyer who quickly snapped up 92 Charles Street for "about $13.5 million." That's the Bible dude's spectacular place. [Page Six]
New York's favorite lovable bunch of designers/flippers/breeders, the Novogratz clan, has switched brokers but not lowered the asking price on their $25 million funky faux-wood 400 West Street townhouse. Celebrity offspring Raphael De Niro will now try to sell it. But that's not the big news! The Real Deal reports the Novogratz's reality show, filmed in the house, will air on Bravo in January. Novomania! [Real Deal; previously]
For those trying to sell NYC property during a recession, here's something that might help: God. 92 Charles Street, owned by one-time Bible Park U.S.A.-builder Armon Bar-Tur, is in contract. The 1836 4BR, 4.5BA townhouse has been on the market since October 24, asking $14.95 million. Bar-Tur's biblical amusement park project was suspended earlier this year, but we guess it's the idea that counts with the Almighty.
The west penthouse at FLAnk's 385 West 12th Street, the copper-covered building still waiting for its copper, is also in contract, according to StreetEasy. Without divine intervention, the sales process on this one moved a little more slowly -- it first hit the market in September '08, asking $13.5 million. It failed to sell, but popped back onto the market at a PriceChopped $12.5 million at the end of last month and, voila!, contract.
· Listing: 92 Charles Street [Corcoran]
· On the Market: Village Townhouse of Biblical Proportions
· 385 West 12th Street #PHWEST [StreetEasy]
Lost in the hubbub over the Jane Hotel and its neighbor-enraging nightlife is what makes the historic property such a quirky little addition to the downtown boutique hotel scene: the mix of budget-hunting, style-conscious travelers cramming into $99-a-night "cabins" (bunk beds, bathrooms down the hall, etc.) and the rent-controlled tenants left behind in unrenovated rooms from the hotel's days as an SRO. One Dallas dad decided to spend a recent weekend at the hotel to visit his NYU-attending daughter, and on his blog he writes a lengthy review of his stay. It was mostly enjoyable, despite the smell that permeated the hallway of his floor and got increasingly worse as the weekend went on. He gets a number of explanations from building staff, including a maintenance guys who tells him, "Someone with really bad hygiene. And some ladies used the bathroom in there, too." The story changes, however, when the door gets sealed and a Police Department D.O.A. notice is posted. "Older guy, lived here," an employee finally fesses up. So what about the pressing matter at hand: Would the blogger stay at the Jane again?
Good question. Overall, it was a great hotel for our hostel-like needs. On the other hand, the experience had a touch of the movie “Hostel”.The Nightmare on Jane Street blog has been eerily silent since October 7, but let's not jump to any conclusions.In my opinion, the management failed miserably. Were I running things, police-seals or not, I would have added the duct tape immediately, and covered the entire door with a drop cloth, hiding the sticker (any workers trying to enter the room would see it of course).
I would have moved everyone near the room to other rooms (perhaps they did - we were towards the far end of the hall). I would have contacted every guest on the floor with a suitable cover story - yes, a lie. Just “plumbing trouble” would do, with assurances that their health was not in jeopardy (though maybe it was… I would have checked with health authorities, and again, perhaps they did).
West Villagers, sharpen your pitchforks: Word from the blogosphere is the neighbor-baiting Jane Ballroom is reopening tonight. True? If so, get your popcorn ready. [The Dizzy Fizz; previously]
The west penthouse at FLAnk's 385 West 12th Street is back on the market, asking $1 million less than when it first popped on the market in September '08. It can now be yours for a recession-friendlier $12.5 million! Seven units in the building are in contract, with three on the market. The facade is still waiting plaintively for the rest of its copper. [StreetEasy; previously]
The West Village has a trove of townhouses of all types. They range from the humbly historic to the hiply histrionic, the monstrous to the magical, the cramped to the commodious, not to mention the troubled to the tasteful. The newest cache of single-family condos hugging the Hudson is the row of townhouses nearing completion on Bethune Street, a component of the Related Companies' Superior Ink development from starchitect Robert A. M. Stern. The exteriors, with dentil molding for days, are getting some tasteful iron rails along the windows, plus a load of other finishing touches both inside and out. It looks like two of the townhouses have been taken (one reportedly by Marc Jacobs), but two others are on the market and up for grabs, asking $13.25 million and $17.25 million.
· Superior Ink coverage [Curbed]
· Superior Ink Condominiums and Townhouses [somethingsuperior.com]
The owners of 92 Charles Street are asking $14.5 million for the 4BR, 4.5BA gut-renovated townhouse, which has a 600-square-foot garden and an elevator. The owner is Armon Bar-Tur, managing director of SafeHarbor Holding, which tried to build Bible Park U.S.A., a $200 million "non-denominational and non-evangelical" amusement park in Tennessee. The park was suspended earlier this year due to local political infighting, but you can buy Bar-Tur's house and create your own biblical park. The second floor, now home to the formal dining and living rooms, might be the perfect place for Bar-Tur's planned Exodus Experience, with "25-foot-high walls of water that serve as a screen showing a dramatic movie depicting the Israelites' departure from Egypt, culminating in a fiery view of Moses and the Burning Bush."
· Listing: 92 Charles Street [Corcoran]
· Bible Park USA official site [Bibleparkusa.com]
FIDI—All hail Beekman Tower, rising king of, uh, the City Hall environs! The tipster who sent us the above cool pic writes, "Now just four stories away from being complete and nearly half of the building has been covered in stainless steel curtain wall. At a pace of one floor every two days, this building should be topped out within two weeks. Looks like the project is progressing on track." That's 77 stories of pure, unfiltered Frank Gehry. We love it. Others don't. [CurbedWire Inbox]
LAS VEGAS—Not only is John Varvatos capitalizing on the Bowery's gritty lore with his boutique in the old CBGB space, but he's also exporting the Bowery to the masses. According to a press release, dude just celebrated the opening of his Bowery NYC store in Vegas's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with an Alice Cooper concert. How does that make you feel, Vanessa Hudgeons? [CurbedWire Inbox]
WEST VILLAGE—Staunch opponents of the Jane Hotel may want to boycott J. Crew. Check out who's modeling in their new catalog.
It's Downtown hotelier Sean MacPherson, showing off an $825 leather jacket. According to the writeup, the jacket is, "Built for speed in hand-distressed, oiled Italian leather complete with authentic road-warrior details." Also keeps the dog pee off your skin. [CurbedWire Inbox]
Rumors have been flying for weeks that Palazzo Chupi's triplex penthouse was pulled off the market not because of price adjustments or broker switcheroos, but because of a sale. We couldn't pin down any other info beyond the whispers, because, c'mon, we're talking about Palazzo Chupi here. But hold on to your Gesamtkunstwerk, ladies and gents, because a sale did happen at 360 West 11th. The $10.5 million deal closed on 10/15, but the paperwork just hit the public realm. The buyer is none other than Willian J.B. Brady, the same middle initial enthusiast who became Palazzo Chupi's first buyer back in 2007, when he paid $15.5 million for a lower unit.
Wait, did he just buy a penthouse once priced at $32 million for a third less than he paid for his other pad in the Chupster? Well, Baron von Schnabel has futzed with the unit numbers over time, so we're not quite sure if Unit #5 is the penthouse or the duplex just below or some other as-yet-unrevealed hidden Chupi chamber. It appears the slightly larger duplex listing is still active, and asking $12.95 million. Folks, Mr. Pink is back in business! Guess the place won't have to be pawned?
UPDATE: Max Abelson confirms that Brady bought the penthouse, meaning the $10.5 million sale price is 67% off the original asking price. Feeling. Woozy. Let's relive a little penthouse magic, shall we?
[Click to expand.]
Above, the floorplan we first had a look at back when the 3,845-square-foot triplex first hit the market for $32 million at the beginning of 2008, about 12,000 asking prices ago. The totally amazing Palazzo Chupi website still has a PDF available of all sorts of penthouse porn. Those white lines they threw in aren't going to stop us! Chupster, we'll love you forever. Don't mess with this, Brady!
· Palazzo Chupi coverage [Curbed]
WEST CHELSEA—Up at Syracuse University, architect Audrey Matlock is exhibiting some of her recent works, including wavy glassmaster Chelsea Modern at 447 West 18th Street. But in the images on display, the starchitecture next door—Della Valle Bernheimer's 459 West 18th Street—got cut out! What gives? A tipster wonders the same: "Nouvel may be uninterested in speculatively shrinking his tower, such is the symbolism, but Audrey Matlock has done the deed on an existing building. At Syracuse they erased and circumcised her neighbor at 459 West 18th Street. Is this unethical, insecure, fantasy, collegial architectural criticism, or clever developer marketing tactics?! All of the above?" [CurbedWire Inbox]
COLLEGE POINT, MURRAY HILL, WEST VILLAGE—The very active of late Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House—a mid-19th century red-brick house in College Point, Queens—a landmark. And in big news for Manhattan preservationists and the women who tolerate them, Murray Hill's Union League Club and the Westbeth Artists Communty (which still has an old piece of the High Line running through it) were calendered for public hearings. The Observer has a bit more on that topic. [CurbedWire Inbox]
Just because the controversial Ballroom is temporarily closed doesn't mean there isn't fun to be had in the West Village. Check out this casting call: "Male model under 30, great abs, masculine, some body hair preferred for provocative, edgy, funny and dramatic street semi and full nudes. I work with a lookout at off hours when the streets have empty moments...My next shoot will be on the morning of Saturday, October 24 from 6 am to 8 am around the new Jane Hotel on Jane Street. We will also shoot some nudes in one of the hotel rooms." [Actors Connect; previously]
Glassybaby, a store selling hand-blown votive candleholders, is moving into the retail space at 555 Hudson Street, where Jane Jacobs used to buy candy while writing Death and Life of Great American Cities. (Jacobs's home, upstairs, also has a new owner.) Beware: Jacobs' ghost will be haunting anyone who uses their candle to pray for Robert Moses's soul. [CurbedWire Inbox; previously]
Downtown Express got Mayor Bloomberg to comment on a pair of raging controversies in fancy Downtown 'hoods—the Tower O' Garbage and the redevelopment of Pier 40. On the former, Bloomberg defended the garbage truck garage in Hudson Square while saying he understands the opposition's hurt feelings: "Not in my backyard is something that everybody feels, me included." He pointed out there will also be a new garbage transfer station only a mile-and-a-half from his home! Meanwhile, on the Pier 40 headaches, Bloomberg said, "I can tell you it's not been the subject of pillow talk." His girlf, Diana Taylor, is chair of the Hudson River Park Trust. [Downtown Express]
Forget market reports! Here are the green shoots we've all been waiting for: celebrity sales! After two years and some sizeable PriceChops, supermodel Gisele Bundchen has finally sold her triplex penthouse at 374 West 11th Street. It first hit the market at $10.9 million, but the final listing price was an airbrushed -- 'scuse us, slimmed-down -- $4.5 million. Gisele's still trying to unload that nearby $13.95 million townhouse, but at least she and Tom can get the baby's college fund started.
Gisele wasn't the only celeb to meet Lady Luck at her open house this week. Whoopi Goldberg has also gone into contract to sell her Wooster Street loft, which was pricetagged at $3.995 million. Now that things are getting moving again, which celeb will be next to sell? Our money's on Julianne Moore. Or there's always the mystery woman.
· Gisele Bundchen, Whoopi Goldberg Agree to Sales [WSJ]
· On the Market: Whoopi Goldberg's Wooster Street Loft [Curbed]
· PriceChopper: How Low Will Gisele Go? [Curbed]
Actor Daniel Radcliffe has been spreading his real estate seed all over downtown Manhattan for years. He snagged a $4.3 million condo in Jean Nouvel's stunning 40 Mercer in Soho, and later added an equally expensive 3BR pad in the West Village's 1 Morton Square. In a way, both purchases were disappointments. While we're sure the apartments are lovely, they're just...modern condos. The Olsen Twins own a place at Morton Square, for cryin' out loud! We expect a little more history and mystique out of Harry Potter. (Yes, we often confuse actors with their on-screen characters.) But we are finally satisfied! The boy wizard has bought an old captain's house!
The Observer's Max Abelson noticed that a recent $5.65 million deal for the 18-foot-wide townhouse at 339 West 12th Street bore the mark of the same LLC on Radcliffe's 40 Mercer deed. His mother is also listed. The Sotheby's listing has been pulled from the brokerage's website, but it's currently preserved in a cached form. Check out these fun facts:
This lovingly renovated townhouse is one of three adjoining homes built by a sea captain in 1847 for his three daughters. The property is on one of New York’s most picturesque tree-lined landmark cobblestone blocks: West 12th Street, between Greenwich and Washington Streets. The 18 plus-foot-wide house faces South, and is soaked in sunlight throughout the day. The sizeable open garden and backyard is cooled by beautiful old trees and landscaping.We assume he'll be combining the small apartment into the main living space, but if not, we'd be happy to have Harry Potter as our landlord. Or maybe he'll use the whole thing as an investment property like his other NYC purchases. Either way, above are a bunch of photos from the listing archived on StreetEasy. Check out where the, uh, magic might happen.The ground floor hosts a separate one bedroom apartment with a wood burning fireplace and a picture window facing the garden. It can easily be rented to produce income. The main residence spans three floors with a living room, dining room, kitchen, powder room, 4 bedrooms, three baths, a balcony overlooking the garden, and 6 working fireplaces. This is a must-see for anyone looking for a townhouse in a prime West Village location, close to the meatpacking district and the new High Line park.
