The Manhattan townhouse once owned by chemist and Skyy Vodka inventor Maurice Kanbar hit the market for $25 million. Nestled on the same tree-lined block as the iconic Mark Hotel, the 11,695-square-foot home at 4 East 77th Street is a stone’s throw from Central Park’s 5th Avenue entrance.
The listing is represented by Compass agents Stacey Kanbar—who is married to the inventor’s nephew—as well as Julie Kopel and Leonard Steinberg. The gilded Upper East Side mansion’s opulent past is reflected by its original tuckahoe marble facade, dating back to over a century ago when it was built in 1895 by Robert McCafferty & Richard W. Buckley.
Visitors are met by an oversized glass-beveled door, giving way to a mosaic-tiled foyer. A dramatic curved staircase with unique moulding details leads to an unused rooftop, which could be fashioned into an outdoor space to add additional square footage. Bowed windows flood the space with plenty of light.
Though currently configured for mixed-use, the building could be converted into a massive single-family unit, Compass told Observer.
The 6-bed, 9.5-bath property currently hosts the Michael Werner gallery on the first two floors. A 1,886-square-foot two-bedroom single apartment takes up the entire third floor, complete with two Juliette balconies and a small terrace. The fourth floor currently holds two one-bedroom apartments. The fifth floor holds a second 1,886-square-foot two-bedroom apartment with a larger terrace with South-facing views of downtown.
The building also features an undeveloped full-height cellar, which could be converted into a rentable apartment or a spacious addition to a private home.
Throughout the building, ceiling heights range from 9’ to over 11’ tall, and the building’s wide, 24-by-97-foot dimensions are grandfathered in, as the city no longer allows them.
Situated on the “Gold Coast” of Manhattan, residents will find themselves just steps away from some of the neighborhood’s best establishments: it’s just around the corner from famed Italian eatery and coffee shop Sant Ambroeus and The Carlyle Hotel’s famous Beekman Bar.
The building has hosted notable residents over the years, first purchased by Benjamin J. Knower and his socialite wife Mary Constance Allen in 1897. In 1957, prominent art dealer Leo Castelli turned the living room into an exhibition space, where storied 20th-century artists—Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Bruce Nauman and more—would pass through.
Kanbar owned the home from 1964 until his death last year at the age of 93, and has not made any major renovations since moving in.
