Designer Downsizing: Marc Jacobs Is Selling His $16 Million West Village Townhouse

The fashion designer is ready to move on from his impeccably renovated Bethune Street home.

Marc Jacobs is listing his custom New York townhouse. Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs

Newlywed Marc Jacobs is keeping busy. The fashion designer recently married his longtime boyfriend, Char Defrancesco, and also made a big real estate move with his purchase of a $9.18 million Frank Lloyd Wright–designed home in Rye, N.Y.

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The designer filled the home with his impressive art collection. Courtesy Yoo Jean Han

Jacobs is planning on spending a significant amount of time at his new Westchester estate, so he’s decided he doesn’t need to maintain his elegantly designed West Village townhouse. He’s now listing the four-story abode on 68 Bethune St. with a nearly $16 million price tag.

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The 4,346-square-foot house is one of the very few townhomes that were built as part of the Robert A.M. Stern–designed Superior Ink condominium complex, which means the buyer will get full access to all of Superior Ink’s amenities, including a 24-hour concierge and doorman as well as a gym, a yoga studio and screening rooms.

Just one of the two kitchens. Courtesy Yoo Jean Han

That was one of the main reasons Jacobs was attracted to the pad in the first place. “He was coming from an apartment, and here you have the best of both worlds with a condo and a townhouse,” Sotheby's International Realty broker Chris Poore, who has the listing, told Observer.

Jacobs paid $10.5 million for the three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom house in 2009, and brought in interior architect Andre Tchelistcheff for a major transformation. “Everything in the house is basically perfection,” Poore said. “There is so much attention to detail. Everything is in incredible condition. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jacobs carefully designed every aspect of the home Courtesy Yoo Jean Han

Jacobs converted two bedrooms on the third floor into a master suite, which now occupies the entire level. It has its own sitting area and a mahogany wood-paneled dressing room, plus a marble bathroom with double vanities and a soaking tub.

There are two kitchens (one of which is for catering) with lacquer cabinetry and stainless steel countertops. The living room has a fireplace, and an elevator accesses each level of the home.

The master suite now takes up a full floor. Courtesy Yoo Jean Han

One of the particularly appealing aspects of the home is the 1,462-square-foot outdoor space, which includes a garden courtyard with an alfresco dining area and a rooftop terrace.

“It’s very rare to find a home completely done like this in the West Village at this level,” Poore said. “It is so tastefully done. You have this world-renowned designer that owned and renovated it himself, and put so much time and thought into everything. To own something like that is so special.”

A dreamy dining situation. Courtesy Francois Halard

Jacobs hasn’t made any decisions about buying another home in Manhattan. Poore said he’s simply downsizing because of his recent Westchester purchase.

Designer Downsizing: Marc Jacobs Is Selling His $16 Million West Village Townhouse