Celebrities

April 27, 2016

Rent the Opulent Upper East Side Mansion Once Home to Versace for $120,000/Month

Now's your chance to live like fashion royalty, as the opulent Upper East Side townhouse once owned by Gianni Versace is on the rental market for the first time, asking a whopping $120,000. The Italian designer bought the house at 5 East 64th Street for $7.5 million in 1995, just two years before he was murdered in Miami. It sold again for $30 million in 2005 to Swedish hedge fund manager Thomas Sandell, but it still retains many of the details left over from Versace's renovation, including marble floors, massive chandeliers, and the painted living room ceiling.
See the whole place
April 26, 2016

Trump’s Flubs: The Donald’s Failed Attempts to Erect the World’s Tallest Building in NYC

Presidential candidate Donald Trump's aggressive tone and occasional outlandish statements have dominated the conversation in the Republican primaries, and today is sure to be no different. Though his supporters feel that he's a shoo-in, his real estate track record hasn't always resulted in success. Take for example his fraught attempt to own the Empire State Building, which ended in lawsuits and public shaming, or his $80 million loss on the Plaza Hotel, which resulted from his near bankruptcy in the '90s. In addition to these public debacles, the developer-turned-showman-turned-politician has envisioned at least three of the world's tallest buildings in New York over the years, which makes sense for a man who glories in superlatives and for whom every project is a flamboyant gesture. In honor of the Donald's never-ending presence, 6sqft decided to take a look at these never-realized, sky-high proposals, which include the New York Stock Exchange Tower, Television City Tower, and 10 Columbus Circle.
Get the story behind all these failed attempts
April 26, 2016

What Are Top NFL Players’ Salaries Worth in Real Estate?

It's no secret that the NFL's top draft picks command starting salaries well into the eight-figure range, but to really put into perspective just how crazy-big their paychecks are, CityRealty's latest infographic takes a look at what the last five #1 picks could buy in Manhattan with their money. And on top of that, how these hypothetical one-off property purchases translate into real estate portfolios in their hometowns. (Teaser: Quarterback Jameis Winston could either buy a $24.95M pad at The Eldorado or 107 homes in his native Tampa, FL!)
Check out the full-size infographic here
April 21, 2016

$1.4M Co-op in Jackie Onassis’ UES Childhood Building Looks Exactly Like You’d Imagine

It doesn't get much more classic Upper East Side than this two-bedroom, sixth-floor co-op on a quietly elegant street just off Park Avenue. The limestone-anchored 1928 building at 125 East 74th Street, designed by Lafayette A. Goldstone, as the NY Post informs us, was the early childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Unit 6A in this pretty prewar building is on the market for $1.39 million. Famous associations aside, the gracious layout of the apartment, which started out having eight rooms and was reconfigured to its current five-room state, looks to be a pretty good deal for the price given its size and location.
See more of this elegant aerie
April 21, 2016

‘Gilmore Girls’ Alexis Bledel and ‘Mad Men’ Hubby Sell Brooklyn Heights Penthouse for $1.3M

The media frenzy surrounding the "Gilmore Girls" Netflix revival is hard at work trying to predict which love interest Rory will end up with. In real life, though, Alexis Bledel is already settled down with husband Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell from "Mad Men"), and the pair just unloaded their classy Brooklyn Heights co-op, according to the Post. The couple first listed the duplex penthouse at 105 Montague Street last year for $1,560,000, slightly higher than the $1,325,000 sale price. The one-bedroom spread with a 500-square-foot roof deck was meticulously renovated and boasts lots of custom built-ins, a myriad of eclectic light fixtures, and a very Restoration Hardware-esque furniture selection.
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April 19, 2016

Yankees Commentator and Former Pitcher David Cone Scores $8M Greenwich Lane Pad

David Cone, former MLB pitcher (you might remember that perfect game he threw for the Yankees in '99) and current Yankees commentator for the YES Network, has scored an $8.1 million apartment at the Greenwich Lane, according to city records. This is slightly up from the $7.97 million ask. The four-bedroom spread takes up more than 2,800 square feet and features a private balcony, beamed ceilings, northern and southern exposures, and a luxurious master suite.
Check out the impressive floorplan
April 19, 2016

Jessica Chastain’s Lovely Greenwich Village Duplex Now on the Market for $1.8M

Jessica Chastain put her former digs at 250 Mercer Street on the rental market for $11,500 a month back in September. But it looks like now she's trying to unload the Greenwich Village duplex for good, as the Observer reports that the apartment has been re-listed for sale at $1.8 million. Chastain bought the 1,284-square-foot home in 2012 for $1.2 million, so she's not turning that much of a profit, but considering she bought a $5.1 million residence at the historic Osborne last year (that once belonged to Leonard Bernstein), we'd say this isn't much of an issue.
Take a tour
April 14, 2016

Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo Put Sexy Soho Loft on the Market for $5.5M

Just a month after announcing that they're expecting their first child, uber-sexy couple Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo have listed their equally sexy Soho loft. The Observer reports that the pair is looking to unload the sprawling, 2,800-square-foot spread at 112 Green Street to the tune of $5.5 million, $1 million more than they purchased it for in August, 2014. The brokers, Adam Mahfouda and Jules Borbely of Oxford Property Group, are the same team Ms. Prinsloo used to sell her Alphabet City apartment. If the loft-like details--six original cast-iron columns, old-time radiators, restored exposed brick walls, and 13-foot tin ceilings--weren't enough to make you drool, let us throw in the fact that this sale can include all the furniture. We've got our eyes on the huge velvet couches and giant light fixture, but we're not sure if those Louis Vuitton trunks in the master bedroom are part of the deal.
Take the full tour
April 14, 2016

Zoe Saldana Sells Kew Gardens Co-op for $280K

"Star Trek" and "Avatar" star Zoe Saldana is letting go of her Queens roots, as the Post reports that the actress has sold her Kew Gardens co-op for $280,000. Saldana spent her early life not far away in Jackson Heights and has owned the apartment at 118-18 Union Turnpike since at least 2002, before she really hit it big. The two-bedroom spread is nothing fancy, but is located in a doorman building and features stainless steel appliances, spacious bedrooms, and lots of closet space.
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April 13, 2016

New Photos of Judy Garland’s Former Dakota Apartment Designed by Sasha Bikoff

6sqft has already covered the listing for this impeccable and impressive $16.7M apartment previously owned by the one and only Judy Garland, but now we've come across additional images offering a more detailed look into this space at the iconic Dakota. The home was designed by Sasha Bikoff, and from room to room the interior seamlessly combines a variety of patterns and pieces, spanning across design styles and movements without a hiccup. The color palette is simultaneously both bold and soft, and each room is packed full of unique design vignettes.
Have a closer look at the stunning home here
April 13, 2016

AC/DC Bassist Cliff Williams’ Former West Village Condo Is Back on the Market for $3M

This two-bedroom condominium in a chic and adorably urban corner of the West Village at 63 Downing Street looks a lot like an apartment a model or actress buys after she gets her first big gig (though in that context the ask is pretty steep; what kind of world is it when starter model apartments are selling for $3M?). She'll move in with a boyfriend soon thereafter, and rent the pad out for a few years. Then if she's done well, she'll make celebrity real estate headlines when she sells it and buys a big loft in Williamsburg or Bushwick. There are a lot of models and actresses out there, so this sunny downtown pad with almost as much outdoor space as indoor should be snapped up in no time. Apparently, it's the kind of apartment that elder statesman rockers with plenty of cash buy, too, because AC⚡️DC bassist Cliff Williams owned this unit with his wife Georganne for nine years before selling it in 2013 for $2.3 million—well over the $1.89M ask (the couple have a daughter who's a model and actress, so it all fits somehow). Williams made a killing selling his Fort Myers, Florida mansion for $7 million about a year ago, so there's something to be said for his real estate karma.
Take a look at these summer-ready terraces
April 12, 2016

Keith Olbermann Lists Trump Palace Condo for $4M in Opposition to Presidential Candidate

CityRealty recently took a closer look at if and how Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric is affecting his real estate empire. They found that, despite how polarizing he is a presidential candidate, it's unlikely that anything will change thanks to an established trust in his brand and the city's current supply and demand status. But there's at least one New Yorker who disagrees, and he's taken a bold step to prove it. The Wall Street Journal reports that liberal commentator Keith Olbermann has listed his Upper East Side condo in the Trump Palace for $3.9 million in opposition to the presidential candidate. Though he's taking a loss on the listing price (he bought the 40th floor pad for $4.2 million in 2007, near the height of the market), he said "I feel 20 pounds lighter since I left... If they had changed the name of it to something more positive like Ebola Palace I would have happily stayed."
But what does Mr. Trump have to say?
April 12, 2016

Luciano Pavarotti’s $10.5M Pied-à-Terre and Next Door Unit Listed as $20M Combo

The 2,000-square-foot co-op at the Hampshire House at 150 Central Park South that was for three decades the favorite Manhattan pied-à-terre of the late operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti, is for sale for $10.5M–or as part of a two-unit, $20.5 million option to create a 3,300 square-foot three-bedroom dream home with two balconies and iconic Central Park views. The neighboring two-bedroom apartment–listed in February for $10 million–is about half the size of Pavarotti's place, but has a 40-foot terrace with park views from every room. The resulting three-bedroom combo has 72 feet of park frontage and the kind of stunning views Central Park South is known for. The opera star, who passed away in 2007, had several apartments in the city but was particularly fond of this one, in part because of its proximity to the Met. The other two members of the "Three Tenors" opera supergroup, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras have lived at this building as well at various times.
Take in the view, this way
April 11, 2016

Uma Thurman’s Newly-Listed $6.25M Gramercy Duplex Comes With a Key to the Park

Actress Uma Thurman has just listed her Gramercy Park duplex co-op at 1 Lexington Avenue for $6.25M; a key to the private park is part of the deal. Thurman lived at the prewar co-op for nearly 15 years, buying several additional units and combining them—while keeping a hand in the real estate game all the while, including a four-bedroom co-op at the venerable River House at 435 East 52nd Street, purchased from romance author Barbara Taylor Bradford in 2013 for $10 million. She's finally parting ways with her Gramercy home to make that move uptown. The "Kill Bill" star reminisces in a NY Times interview about her family life in the building, "It was such a cozy place—it really was home for us."
Check out the gorgeous home that resulted
April 6, 2016

Arianna Huffington Wants You In Her Bed

No, really. To herald the the arrival of the media maven’s new book, “The Sleep Revolution,” which addresses the common malaise of not getting enough sleep and how it’s affecting us rather terribly, Arianna Huffington has “turned her bedroom into a sleep sanctuary.” By way of a contest accompanied by an Airbnb listing–with fabulous, full-color photos of the ultra-feminine 158 Mercer Street loft, which she purchased for $8.15 million in 2012–Arianna has invited one lucky winner and a guest to spend a night in her New York City apartment.
What else do I get?
April 5, 2016

UES Firehouse Studio That Andy Warhol Rented for $150/Month Is Now Listed for $10M

In 1959, just before his career was about to take off, Andy Warhol bought a townhouse at 1342 Lexington Avenue near 89th Street and moved in with his mother. "But after three years there, canvases had begun to fill the ground floor apartment, while Brillo boxes and Campbell’s soup cans were stacked to the ceilings," reports Blouin Art Info. So when a friend tipped him off to a vacant firehouse nearby at 159 East 87th Street, the pop artist saw an opportunity for his first official studio. He wrote a letter to the city and began paying $150/month for the two-story building with no heat or running water (h/t DNAinfo). It's here that Warhol is said to have created his famous "Death and Disaster" series from 1962-63, and now, more than five decades later, the property is on the market for $9,975,000.
Find out more this way
April 4, 2016

Madonna Sues Upper West Side Co-Op Board Because Rules Don’t Apply to Her

Feeling above the law seems to be a new trend for Madonna. Just last week the lately-unpredictable superstar got ousted for posting fake "no parking" signs outside her Upper East Side mansion, and now the Daily News reports she's suing the board of her Upper West co-op "for changing the building rules on her and barring her children, guests and employees from using her apartment unless she is present." Madonna bought the apartment at 1 West 64th Street for $7.3 million in 2008, at which time she says the co-op rules didn't have such a stipulation. So she wants a court order saying the rule doesn't apply to her and her posse.
Get the full story ahead
March 31, 2016

Rent Governor Cuomo’s Former Douglaston Manor for $6,000/Month

Last year, Governor Cuomo's former mansion in the suburban waterfront enclave of Douglaston, Queens hit the market looking like something straight out of the Great Gatsby. Cuomo lived in the sprawling home with his ex wife Kerry Kennedy, but sold it in 1993, when he joined the Clinton administration. It's a six-bedroom, Mediterranean-style manor that was constructed in the 1920s and was asking $2.7 million. In January, the home sold for a cool $2.4 million. And the new buyers have listed it for rent, asking $6,000 a month. In Manhattan, $6,000 a month could definitely get you a nice apartment, but it couldn't get you a mansion and outdoor space this impressive. It's enough to lure a person way out to Douglaston.
Take a look around
March 28, 2016

Actor Chris Lowell Sells Double-Height Greenwich Village Loft for $1M

Former "Veronica Mars" actor Chris Lowell listed his Greenwich Village loft for $1.195 million back in November, just three months before buying another loft, this time in Soho, with girlfriend and fellow actor Kerry Bishé (from the AMC drama “Halt and Catch Fire” and the film “Argo”). The cute couple's new home, a triplex with outdoor space and tons of exposed brick, cost almost double at $2.25 million, which is why it's perfect timing that Lowell unloaded his bachelor pad. The Observer reports that he got $1,050,000 for the co-op at 67 East 11th Street, which boats 16-foot ceilings, double-height windows, and cast iron columns.
Take a look around
March 25, 2016

Actor Stephen Dorff Lists Chelsea Penthouse Loft With Party-Ready Roof Deck for $3M

The Chelsea loft penthouse at 251 West 19th Street belonging to actor Stephen Dorff just hit the market for $3 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. The apartment's best feature is undoubtedly its 850-square-foot private roof terrace with a wet bar/kitchen, outdoor shower and Empire State Building views. Dorff was a teen heartthrob in the '90s–known for the boxing film, "The Power of One" (1992), and the 1998 superhero film “Blade”–and an indie It Boy of sorts in the following decade, appearing in cult films like John Waters' "Cecil B. Demented" and slacker/grunge time capsule "S.F.W.." A stream of typical "evil guy" roles followed until 2010, when he starred in the Sofia Coppola film "Somewhere," which, perhaps ironically, is the tale of a disaffected hotel-dwelling actor. But Dorff has definitely worked hard if nothing else. And he may finally be seeing the benefits: WSJ quotes the actor in a 2013 interview as describing his less-than-savvy spending habits during the early days of his career: "After movies, I would rent these really expensive houses, and then I would run out of money and have to do another movie. I didn't like that feeling of having to take something I didn't want," he says. "Now I'm into buying—forget this renting stuff."
See more of this indoor-outdoor duplex
March 24, 2016

Madonna Caught Posting Fake ‘No Parking’ Signs Outside UES Mansion

Madonna seems to really be going off the rails lately, with multiple reports of wild performance antics and showing up late to concerts. But her questionable behavior isn't just reserved for the stage, as TMZ is reporting that she "concocted a scheme to snag precious parking spots in front of her super expensive NYC apartment, and the authorities came down on them like a brick." Reports say that her people put "Tenant Parking Only" signs along the block, as well as painted the curb yellow and embossed it to say "NO PARKING," despite the fact that these are all public parking spots.
Get the scoop
March 24, 2016

‘Scarface’ Director Brian De Palma Buys Second Co-op in Fifth Avenue Building for $1.8M

Filmmaker Brian De Palma just bought a second unit at 1 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village according to city records. The famous director of "Scarface" and "Carrie" already owns an apartment on the 23rd floor of the Gold Coast building, where's he's lived since at least 1989, but his latest acquisition is a two-bedroom unit for which he paid $1,750,000.
Find out more about the building's celebrity residents
March 24, 2016

Rent Michael C. Hall’s Greenwich Lane Pad for $15K a Month

"Dexter" star Michael C. Hall (whom you might also love from "Six Feet Under" or David Bowie's "Lazarus") made celebrity real estate news just last week for the purchase of a $4.3 million two-bedroom apartment in the new Greenwich Lane complex at 160 West 12th Street. Now the New York Post reports that the apartment is available for rent for $15,000 a month. The actor, who successfully fought cancer at age 38, recently married longtime girlfriend Morgan Macgregor, an associate editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books. He also recently sold his Los Feliz home for $4.85 million, so while the couple may be warming up to New York City living, it makes sense to put the prime Village property to good use from day one.
See more of the Greenwich Lane pad
March 21, 2016

Yankee Legend Lou Gehrig’s New Rochelle Family Home Is for Sale for Just $300K

The New York Post reports that Yankee legend Lou Gehrig's former home is for sale. The 2,522-square-foot, four-bedroom New Rochelle house that Gehrig purchased for his parents in 1928–and in which he lived for five years afterward–just hit the market for a surprisingly low $399,999 (assessment rolls list the home's market value as $506,826). According to the Post, the price is so low because it's a short sale, i.e. the seller owes more on the property than the amount of expected profit. Also, the home is being sold “as is.”
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March 21, 2016

Light Installation Artist James Turrell Gets $2.2M for Classic Gramercy Co-op With Park Key

In November, 2014, 6sqft reported that light installation artist James Turrell had sold an apartment at 26 Gramercy Park South for $2.1 million. The famed conceptual artist is based in Flagstaff, Arizona, so the sale didn't come as much of a surprise. However, now it's come to light (no pun intended) that he and his wife Kung Lim-Lee Turrell own more real estate in the neighborhood. According to city records released today, Turrell has sold his personal apartment at 2 Gramercy Park West (an historic Italianate mansion known as the James Pinchot House that's been divided into seven units) for $2,225,000. The artist's former home is a full-floor residence that comes with a much-coveted key to the park, a private garden, and, not surprisingly, an enormous skylight.
See the entire apartment