By Stephen Jacob Smith 4/09 8:35pm

Manhattan Transfers

"Sorry, but the figurine stays," we imagine Mr. Cohen told the photographer at Corcoran.

The Rumors Are True: Steve Cohen Lists $115 M. One Beacon Court Penthouse

Over the past year, hedge fund honcho Steve Cohen has shelled out $150 million for a Picasso, $60 million for an East Hampton estate and $616 million to get the Securities and Exchange Commission off his back. Now, it looks like he wants to get a little bit back—$115 million, to be exact.

Via our friends at Real Estalker comes word that Mr. Cohen’s 9,000-square foot spread at One Beacon Court, the residential portion of the Bloomberg Tower at 151 East 58th Street, has officially hit the market. Mr. Cohen and his brokers—Deborah Grubman and David Dubin at Corcoran—are hoping to knock reigning real champion 15 Central Park West out of the park and set a New York City record.

But with no outdoor space, three blocks between the building and the park and nowhere near the name recognition of 15 Central Park West, can Mr. Cohen’s 51st-story duplex do it? (Even if it can’t, he only paid $24 million for the apartment back in 2005, so he’ll come out ahead either way.) Read More

By Stephen Jacob Smith 3/06 3:10pm

Manhattan Transfers

Convenient to the subway, and also convenient for in-home murders—no clean-up necessary!

‘West Side Story’ Producer Hal Prince Swaps Brokers, Tries For $21 M. On the East Side

Harold Prince may be best known for directing and producing Broadway musicals, but his real métier, it turns out, is real estate. According to city records, the 21-time Tony winner has bought or sold no less than seven different properties in Manhattan north of 59th Street over the past decade. (For the most part, not a West Side Story—only three units were on the West Side, and two of those were in 222 Central Park South.)

And his latest attempt is far from modest: just yesterday he and wife Judy relisted their townhouse at 48 East 74th Street for $21 million. If they can get anywhere near the ask, it’ll be a windfall for the couple, as they bought the home in 2009 for $12.5 million. (Although it was the previous owner, who bought the house in 2002 for just $3.6 million, who made off the best.) Read More

By Kim Velsey 10/15/12 2:10pm

Manhattan Transfers

7 Photos

116 East 70th Street

Woody Allen’s Getting a New Neighbor: Contract Signed for Copper-Clad Townhouse on E. 70th Street

It looks like the Annie Hall director will soon have a new neighbor at 116 East 70th Street. The Observer has noticed that the coppery townhouse located next to Woody Allen’s spread at 118 is now in contract. We guess somewhat really fell in lurve with it.

Most recently listed at $22.5 million, the house is even more magnificent than the famously mouthwatering spreads featured in Mr. Allen’s movies. It has five bedrooms, huge bay windows in the parlor and library (both with wood burning fireplaces, of course) and a gallery of Bulgarian marble. Thoroughly redesigned by its former owner, 19th century master builder Michael Reid, the house sits on a block of homes crafted by architectural luminaries: Walker and Gillette, Trowbridge and Livingston, Paul Mellon,  Grosvenor Atterbury and William Lescaze. It should come as no surprise that the stretch was once inhabited by Morgans, Astors and Rothschilds. Read More

By Kim Velsey 9/28/12 12:40pm

Manhattan Transfers

8 Photos

Biddle Shipman Mansion Hits the Market

A $48.5 M. Manse For the East River Obsessed: Ellen Biddle Shipman House Hits the Market

When it came to her Beekman Place townhouse, Ellen Biddle Shipman was not what you would call modest. “There is not in all New York another piece of property like it, for it has the seclusion of Beekman Place, southern exposure, beauty of architecture combined with the extended view of the East River,” the famed landscape architect boasted of the brownstone that she bought in 1919 and renovated so thoroughly that it had become a red brick townhouse seven years later.

Now, Ms. Shipman’s house at 21 Beekman Place is looking for a buyer, with the seller betting that someone will be similarly awed by the townhouse’s charms to spend $48.5 million. It’s a price that might have shocked Ms. Shipman, but one that won’t cause today’s trophy hunters to bat an eye. As for Ms. Shipman, she knew a trend when she saw one. In fact, she had a habit of setting them off, causing something of a craze for East River abodes when she declared Beekman Place the place to be. Read More

By Kim Velsey 9/04/12 8:00am

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Oaktree Capital's Howard Marks bought his Ritz Carlton pad for $18.8 million in 2007. Now he's asking $50 million. The excuse? A stunning renovation.

Pursuing Perfection, One Massive Renovation At A Time

The paint had scarcely dried at 15 Central Park West before the building’s first residents set to knocking down the walls and stripping out the ultra-luxury condo’s ultra-luxurious finishes. Not that the finishes were lacking—like the layouts, they were widely considered to be exquisite—a stunning marriage of old-fashioned grandeur and modern sensibilities. In fact, ex-Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill thought that architect Robert A.M. Stern had done such a fine job designing the building that he hired him to do a massive renovation on his brand new, $43.7 million penthouse.

In the upper echelons of Manhattan real estate, the pursuit of perfection is as common as Sub-Zero refrigerators and private elevator landings. Haunted by dreams of what could be, owners are forever tearing magnificent properties apart in the hopes of transforming them into even more magnificent properties.

Such dreams often pay off handsomely. To wit, Mr. Weill’s freshly-renovated penthouse was so striking that it fetched $88 million shortly after completion. But of course, it would surprise no one, particularly not Nicholas S.G. Stern, son of A.M. and the owner of boutique construction concern Stern Projects LLC., if the Russian tycoon who bought the celebrated spread started his own renovation any day now. Read More

By Kim Velsey 7/12/12 11:00am

Manhattan Transfers

7 Photos

Another Audacious Ask

Embattled Italian Mogul Piofrancesco Borghetti Selling Off 15 CPW Spread

Apartment 32C is situated in one of the towers of 15 Central Park West—a lofty, three-bedroom perch from which to view the city, although perhaps not so lofty as the asking price of $27.7 million.

Italian business bigwig Piofrancesco Borghetti, who serves as chairman of the board at Marbert Holding AG and a handful of other powerful companies, bought the spread for just $9.8 million in 2008, according to city records. Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/22/12 11:45am

Manhattan Transfers

9 Photos

Stanford White Mansion

Oh My! Stanford White-Designed Fifth Avenue Mansion Sells For $42 M., 2012 Townhouse Record

For a while there we were worried that living in Gilded Age splendor had gone the way of horse-drawn carriages and corsets, with everyone all agog over penthouse sky-mansions in shiny new buildings like One57. But it seems that some buyers can still appreciate a Fifth Avenue manse opening out onto the Park. After all, why have a floor-through when you can have seven floors?

The Observer has learned, through sources familiar with the deal, that the sprawling Gilded Age townhouse at 973 Fifth Avenue has closed for $42 million, setting the year’s townhouse record. (The all-time record still belongs to the $53 million Harkness Mansion, though Larry Gagosian bought it for a mere $36.5 million last year. The largest townhouse sale since was the $48 million deal for the Vanderbilt Mansion last May.) Read More

By Kim Velsey 5/28/12 1:50pm

Manhattan Transfers

8 Photos

15 CPW

Update: 15 CPW Sale Closes, Meridian CEO Makes Big Profit

The grand apartments at 15 Central Park West may appear to be the stars in the movie called New York City Real Estate, but really, the leading role is played by 15 CPW itself. At the limestone godhead, the normal rules of resale do not apply—this is the building where audacious asks are, apparently, always rewarded.

Take, for example, the latest triumph. Westside RE Properties LLC has purchased 37C, a three-bedroom tower apartment listed with Brown Harris Stevens broker Paula Del Nunzio for $23.35 million, not far below the $23.95 million ask. Read More