The Financial District may have a lot going for it these days—Frank Gehry’s tower, the new World Trade Center—but it will soon be missing one of its prized assets: hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons.
Mr. Simmons has listed his duplex penthouse condo at 114 Liberty Street for $11 million, a listing first spotted by The Real Deal.
The condo has five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, barrel vaulted ceilings, a huge chef’s kitchen and a kitchenette (perhaps Mr. Simmons—a vegan and big time fan of homemade juices—needed some extra storage space for all the fruits and vegetables he eats?).
As Mr. Simmons once told The New York Times in response to a question about his Sunday morning meditation ritual: “My crib, the whole thing’s an altar.” In broker babble, that apparently translates to: “One must visit this property and experience the captivating aura of light, views, grand scale and drama.”
Mr. Simmons once shared the spacious, sunny loft with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons, whom he bought out for $2.3 million back in 2007 after the couple divorced. The listing is held by Corcoran brokers Deborah Grubman and David Dubin.
Ms. Grubman told The Real Deal that the property offered a unique opportunity to buy in the neighborhood before prices—post WTC completion—shoot up. You know that we’re living in a hyper-gentrified city when $11 million is the getting-in early price.
kvelsey@observer.com
