Chart-topping songwriter and producer Amund Bjørklun must have thought that the ClockTower building at 1 Main Street in Dumbo was irreplaceable.
Mr. Bjørklund, half of the duo that is Norwegian hit-factory Espionage, just bought a $1.7 million loft in the building with his impossibly lovely wife, former model Sunniva.
Mr. Bjørklund clearly knows how to find a winner—besides co-writing Beyoncé’s 2007 hit “Irreplaceable,” Espionage is also responsible for getting Chris Brown’s “With You” and Train’s “Hey Soul Sista” horribly, helplessly, impossibly stuck in your head. (They’ve also collaborated with Stargate on Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks hits).
The Bjørklunds are relocating from a rental at Tribeca Pointe, a waterside tower in Battery Park City, so they should feel right at home in Dumbo’s most exclusive (ahem, expensive) building. It’s been a nice few months for the ClockTower, which as of March can also count Anne Hathaway among its high-profile residents. The listing goes so far as to call Main Street Dumbo’s Park Avenue!
The Bjørklund’s airy, high-ceilinged new apartment, listed with Halsted brokers Terrence Le Ray and Charles Homet, looks like the perfect nest for a pair of genetically-gifted Norwegians. (The couple bought the apartment for ask from Joseph Schottland and Linda Monia Dini, but the price took a few small price cuts after going on the market in 2009 for $1.9 million).
The two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom loft has all the nouns and adjectives that an artsy loft should: “11-foot ceilings with exposed beams,” “oak floors,” “flooded with light.” There are also customized closets and a kitchen with a white marble island, a built in Miele espresso maker and a Viking range [insert Ikea/Scandinavian joke here].
Another huge bonus—the apartment comes with sound-proofed walls so the neighbors won’t be subjected to any unbearably catchy music.
kvelsey@observer.com