Former Morgan Stanley CEO lists UES townhouse for $80M
Photo credit: Francisco Rosario/DD-Reps
A home on the Upper East Side hit the market last week for $80 million, which would become the priciest residential townhouse sold in New York City if it fetches the asking price. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the palatial home at 165 East 70th Street belongs to former Morgan Stanley chair and CEO John Mack and his wife Christy, who paid $13.5 million for the property in 2009. Formerly a carriage house, the landmarked limestone townhouse measures an impressive 33 feet wide and contains nearly 16,000 square feet across six floors.
In 1902, bankers Henri Wertheim and Jules Bache hired Gilded Age architect C.P.H. Gilbert to design side-by-side stables at 163 and 165 East 70th Street. The block, like others on the Upper East Side, was designed for carriage houses to hold carriage horses and servants of wealthy people who lived nearby but didn’t want the smell of horses next to their homes.
In 1920, the property turned into a garage and chauffeur quarters for Stephen C. Clark and was later used by Paul and Bunny Mellon as a private garage, according to the listing.
According to the WSJ, the Macks returned to Manhattan after raising their children in Westchester, hoping to find a turnkey townhouse. Instead, the couple found the East 70th home, with its original stables, that required an extensive renovation to turn into a single-family home with 20 rooms that took six years.
“It still had the horse ramps and stalls, like a barn,” Christy told the newspaper. “When we bought it, there was nothing but cars in it. I thought, ‘What in the world are we going to do with this space?'”
The Macks hired architecture firm Sawyer Berson and interior designer Eleanor LaSota for a “no-expense-spared renovation,” which added designer lighting, quarter-sawn hand-pillowed floors, and custom everything. A wrought iron and limestone staircase climbs 46 feet to the skylight, with an elevator reaching every floor.
A curb-cut driveway leads from the street to a Petit Granit-floored garage that can become an entertaining space. This floor includes a private guest suite with a full kitchen and a screening room.
The second level features a large living room that faces East 70th Street, with a wood-burning fireplace.
An eat-in chef’s kitchen is anchored by a large quartzite island and features paneled Sub-Zero, Miele, and Wolf appliances. There’s easy access to a landscaped terrace, perfect for al fresco dining.
A formal dining room, wet bar, and butler’s pantry are found off the kitchen.
The third floor has a Sapele mahogany-wrapped library, as well as a den and wet bar.
On the north side of the third floor is the primary suite, which includes three spacious dressing rooms and marble-clad baths. One more level up, four additional bedrooms, all with their own full or half baths, can be found. There’s also a 600-square-foot irrigated terrace surrounded by greenery.
On the fifth floor, his-and-hers soundproof offices with custom millwork sit adjacent to the impressive solarium, which has automatic UV shades.
A 480-square-foot rooftop terrace is the cherry on top, with sweeping city views and custom landscaping by Verdany NY.
Adding to the luxury, the below-ground cellar holds a full spa, with a Jacuzzi/cold plunge, a steam room, a sauna, and a massage room. There’s also a well-equipped gym, which was tiled in the original tile salvaged from the horse ramps, and a wine cellar with enough space for over 6,300 bottles.
Other perks include heated floors everywhere (even the terraces and sidewalks), the Intellitech security system, and a bulletproof front door.
If the home fetches $80 million, it would narrowly take the title of most expensive residential townhouse in New York from the current record-holder, 14 East 67th Street, which closed for $77.1 million in 2019. The downtown record is two combined 19th-century homes at 138-140 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village that sold for $72.5 million in 2024.
[Listing details: 165 East 70th Street at CityRealty]
[At The Agency by Mike Fabbri]
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