There goes the neighborhood!
Fashion designer Nicole Miller and her computer-maven husband Kim Taipale recently put their Tribeca apartment on the market for $4.25 million.
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom co-op on Hudson Street is not the little black dress of Manhattan apartments: It includes 11-foot ceilings and a full dining room, which could be converted to an additional bedroom.
Located on the top-floor of a prewar building, the apartment includes four exposures, with a partial view of the Hudson River. Ample light enters through 10 triple bay windows.
What doesn’t come with the place is the rather unsurprisingly chic accoutrements put together by the doyenne of a $65-million-a-year fashion empire: postwar French furniture, a reproduction Le Corbusier dining-room table and works by Andy Warhol, Ellen Gallagher and Damien Loeb on the walls. That is, according to a November 2000 InStyle profile of the luxurious Tribeca home.
But for $4.25 million, architect Daniel Rowen’s complete renovation of the apartment might be a masterpiece on its own. The kitchen includes SubZero, Viking and Thermodor appliances; a black granite island and counter tops; and a slate floor. In the master bathroom, there are double stainless sinks, a bathtub with a Jacuzzi, a separate shower with built-in steam, and Volla stainless fixtures.
Prior to her 1996 marriage to Mr. Taipale (presided over by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, another high-flyer), Ms. Miller’s apartment was approximately 2,000 square feet. She was reportedly already visibly pregnant at the wedding, so it was obvious that more space might be needed in the future. After the wedding the couple purchased an adjoining apartment for a combined unit measuring 3,300 square feet.
She’s come a long way since she stopped partying at Danceteria and opened her first boutique in 1986-but how far will she go? Ms. Miller has lived in Tribeca for over 20 years-and her departure follows the exits of other local luminaries like Cynthia Rowley and Peter Arnell; Tribeca staple Robert De Niro is looking to trade his Hudson Street triplex for the Upper East Side.
But Ms. Miller could not be reached for comment on whether the couple and their son, Palmer, will move into another downtown home (they also own property in the Hamptons).
Francine Hunter McGivern of Prudential Douglas Elliman is the listing broker. She declined to comment.
Speaking of artsy Manhattanites taking off to the Hamptons (it’s an old trick honed to perfect shabby-chicness by the likes of Jackson Pollock), artist David Salle, whose work is displayed in the Guggenheim Museum, Tate Gallery and Whitney Museum for American Art, has bought a little masterpiece of his own: a $2 million East Hampton “camp,” according to local property-transfer records.
It seems like a case of artists trying to keep it in the family, since the sellers were fellow artist Judith Hudson and novelist and screenwriter Richard Price.
Ms. Hudson, a painter, has held solo exhibitions since 1974, and is currently represented by Axel Raben Gallery in Chelsea.
Mr. Price is the author of seven novels and has contributed articles and essays to The New Yorker, New York Times and Rolling Stone. He is best known for his 1992 novel Clockers, which was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award; Spike Lee directed the big-screen version. He also penned the screenplays for Sea of Love, Ransom and The Color of Money.
Built in 1968, the 3,000-square-foot house includes four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Other features include a Gunite pool, fireplace, covered porches and a detached garage.
Last summer, the couple-who maintain a permanent Manhattan residence-moved into their custom-designed, contemporary Hamptons home in nearby Amagansett. However, in November 2002, construction of the idyllic residence was in jeopardy. The couple reportedly planned to build an artist studio, swimming pool, pool house and hot tub on their three-acre plot of land in an environmentally protected area. East Hampton Star editor in chief David E. Rattray voiced his criticism of their plans at the zoning-board meeting. Eventually, the plans met regulations and the house was built. Now the family adapts to the scenic area.
“Change is always interesting,” said Ms. Hudson. “The area reminds me of where I grew up in Cape Cod.”
“We had it for 16 years,” said Mr. Price, regarding the house that the couple originally purchased for $530,000.
Mr. Salle is no stranger to the Hamptons-he has owned a house in Sagaponack.
And like the people he’s buying from, he has been known for elaborate projects. In 2001, Mr. Salle bought two buildings near the Brooklyn Academy of Music for $700,000. The combined 10,000-square-foot space includes both a residence and studio.
Mr. Salle could not be reached for comment at press time.
Upper East Side
2 Columbus Avenue Two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom condo. Asking: $2.295 million. Selling: $2.2 million. Charges: $935; taxes: $11,700. Time on the market: six weeks.
BACK TO THE CITY! Fleeing an empty suburban nest, this New Jersey lawyer, whose daughter is graduating from college soon, took up residence in the heart of Manhattan. The single attorney’s new two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom condo is located over 30 floors up, with views of both the Empire State Building and the Garden State (in case she gets homesick). And now she gets to reverse-commute to her job across the Hudson! A recent renovation perked things up in the new place with added features including a Jacuzzi, granite tub, five flat-screen televisions and recently refinished floors. “It was one of the most beautiful renovations, and an inexpensive option to the Time Warner Center,” said Leonard Steinberg, who represented the sellers, along with Hervé Senequier, both of Prudential Douglas Elliman. The sellers, a couple working in the financial markets, relocated downtown to a Chelsea penthouse with a 1,000-square-foot terrace. Frederico Ziotto of Barkin and Associates represented the buyer.
Soho
475 Broadway Three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo. Asking: $1.975 million. Selling: $2.195 million. Charges: $808; taxes: $7,572. Time on the market: seven weeks.
THE BACHELOR REPORT A single investor who wanted to move to Manhattan from Chicago grabbed this 2,500-square-foot, full-floor condo. The three-bedroom bachelor pad features 13-foot ceilings, three marble bathrooms, hardwood floors, crown moldings and a wood-burning fireplace. For convenience, there is a laundry room in the apartment and a balcony to look down at shoppers heading to Bloomingdale’s. “The living room had these huge 12-foot-high windows,” said Alan Sands of the Corcoran Group, who represented the sellers, a couple leaving the country. Situated on a high floor in the eight-story structure, the buyer will enjoy north, west and east exposures through the oversized windows. “The light is incredible coming from the east,” said Mr. Sands. Robert Browne and Pablo Montes, both of the Corcoran Group, also represented the sellers. Built in 1894, the neo-Renaissance style building was renovated to condos at a cost of approximately $10 million.
