After a spring of heady real estate sales, we’ve been waiting for the traditional summer slump, as buyers opt to spend their weekends in the Hamptons instead of house hunting in the city.
But we’ve started to doubt that such a time will ever arrive. First, the Stanford White-designed mansion on Fifth Avenue closed for $42 million on Friday and now Forbes chief operating officer Timothy C. Forbes has listed his Greenwich Village townhouse for $12.95 million. And we suppose if anyone should know about the market it’s Mr. Forbes, son of the late Malcolm Forbes and co-president of his family’s financial publishing empire?
Mr. Forbes purchased the historic house way back in 1987 (and we must say, it’s just the kind of old-fashioned, classy-looking place we’d imagine a Forbes scion living). The listing, held by Corcoran brokers Sara Gelbard, Paul Kolbusz and Christopher Infante, emphasizes the house’s historic character and old New York pedigree. Built in 1842 on land that was once part of the Wouter Van Twiller farm (1600s) and later granted to Admiral Sir Peter Warren by the city for his role in the capture of a French fort during the French-Indian War (1700s), the home’s first occupant was a ship’s captain.
We’re not sure why Mr. Forbes has decided to list the 5-bedroom house. Maybe after the house was finished being “painstakingly restored” he found living in someplace so old-fashioned painstaking? The decor at 60 West 11th does seem to be torn between historic authenticity and contemporary furnishings, with some rooms firmly in the 19th century and others decidedly in the current one.
Still, historic houses offer some hard-to-beat features seldom found in more modern abodes, like six wood-burning fireplaces, pilastered windows, double parlors, mahogany detailing and ceilings covered with decorative ceiling roses. There’s also a south-facing landscaped garden (great for connecting to the home’s earliest history in the centuries before it was built).
kvelsey [at] observer.com
