Frank Winfield Woolworth made his millions from dime stores, then saved his pennies and built some of the city’s landmarks — like the trio of East 80th Street townhouses he created for his daughters. One of them — a neoclassical home of white marble, built at 2 E. 80th St. (at right) in 1915 for his eldest daughter, Edna Woolworth Hutton — is now up for sale at $19.99 million.
The 6,850-square-foot, five-story, six-bedroom mansion, designed by famed architect Charles “C.P.H.” Gilbert (who also worked on the other two Woolworth townhouses), has an elevator and six woodburning fireplaces. The ceilings are 12 feet, 4 inches, with original plaster friezes and moldings. There’s also a grand entrance with the original bronze front gate, a sweeping staircase, a solarium and a mahogany-paneled dining room and library. The residence is currently owned by another heiress, Heloise Waislitz, who has never even lived there.
Waislitz is based in Australia with her husband, Alex. (She is the daughter of the late cardboard-box mogul Richard Pratt.) They bought the townhouse for $16.5 million from entertainment lawyer Paul Schindler in 2008, who left for the Plaza — where he is waiting for renovations to be completed on the 6,000-square-foot unit he purchased for $13.4 million.
Dolly Lenz, Laura Matiz and Julie Weintraub of Prudential Douglas Elliman have the 2 E. 80th St. listing.
Gossip!
Spotted: Blake Lively apartment-hunting — downtown!
She might play uptown hottie Serena van der Woodsen on “Gossip Girl,” but in real life, the actress has been looking for digs in TriBeCa. She recently checked out some apartments at 55 Vestry St., otherwise known as the Fairchild building, on the pricey northwestern edge of the nabe. Lively looked at multiple apartments with outdoor space in the $2 million to $3 million range.
Tina Knowles, Beyonce’s mom, was also recently spotted visiting units at the building.
Coming up Rosen
Real estate developer Aby Rosen has listed a six-story limestone townhouse at 3 E. 94th St. for $24.75 million. The residence has been repped by at least three firms, with the Corcoran Group being the latest.
Rosen purchased it for $8.8 million from D. Claeys Bahrenburg, a former president of Hearst Magazines, in 2005. Rosen then totally renovated the 11,700-square-foot townhouse, which had been divided into two residences, and turned it into a single-family home with five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a pool, a sauna and a 1,000-bottle temperature-controlled wine cellar. The townhouse was previously listed for $29.5 million.
Loews rent
The Loews Regency Hotel is setting itself up as a luxury rental building of sorts. And you can stay there in a one-bedroom suite for around $12,450 per month or in a two-bedroom for around $18,000 per month.
The hotel is making a marketing push to add to its handful of long-term residents, who include Vernon Jordan. The Park Avenue building is currently best known as the spot where John Edwards met Rielle Hunter.
The Upper East Side hotel touts perks like free continental breakfast for two (via room service or in the hotel restaurant), free wireless Internet access and local phone calls, and 20 percent off in-house valet/laundry services. But who’s counting pennies? Rates at the Regency start at $415 per night (plus tax) for stays of 30 consecutive nights or more, billed monthly.