A POSSIBLE new townhouse record could be posted now that a buyer has finally surfaced for Bob Guccione’s former funhouse. The double-wide, 22,000-square-foot Upper East Side mansion at 14-16 E. 67th St. – which has been on and off the market for the past six years with a last asking price of $59 million – has an accepted offer.
The buyers, according to sources, are hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone and his wife, Lisa, who’ve just completed restoration of a townhouse they own a few doors away.
While the purchase price is unknown, the home’s listing figure is well above the current record of $53 million for a 25,000-square-foot townhouse on East 75th Street purchased by investment banker J. Christopher Flowers nearly two years ago.
In its latest incarnation, the 27-room residence, with a “Caligula”-style indoor pool, has been marketed by Brown Harris Stevens as the more staid “Milbank Mansion” (the original owner who combined the two homes in 1919), rather than the longtime lair of the flesh-peddling publisher.
But, while the Penthouse magazine founder wasn’t known for hosting decadent parties like those held at rival Hugh Hefner’s West Coast pad, the six-story palace still had its share of tawdry activities. One “Pet of the Year” successfully sued Guccione years ago, after claiming she was kept as a sex slave in the residence.
Guccione was forced out of the massive townhouse in early 2006 after the bankrupt pornographer failed to pay off a high-interest loan in a last-ditch effort to avoid foreclosure a few years earlier.
Falcone runs Harbinger Capital Partners, which holds a 10 percent stake in the New York Times Co., and is reportedly seeking to replace four of the foundering newspaper publisher’s directors with their own slate of executives.
Those who have toured his property say it’s in need of repair. “It’s falling apart, and the roof leaks like a sieve,” says a recent visitor.
The outspoken Mrs. Falcone, who appeared in New York magazine in 2005 clutching her test-tube twins, has told friends that she wants to add two more levels to one side of the mansion.
Lofty goooooal!
Want to score European soccer star Robbie Elliott’s two-bedroom, two-bath condo at 205 E. 59th St.? Here’s your chance.
The 1,314-square-foot residence belonging to the Hartlepool United defender (who previously played for Newcastle United) just hit the market with a $1.9 million asking price. It features a private balcony, remote-controlled gas fireplaces, a washer/dryer and a kitchen with custom teak cabinetry and Viking and Dacor appliances.
The amenity-filled building has a fifth-floor landscaped private garden terrace, a fitness center, a 24-hour doorman and concierge, a secluded “puppy park” with a custom-built playground, an outdoor “stretching studio” and a sundeck with a shaded veranda.
Broker Lisa Maysonet of Prudential Douglas Elliman has the listing.
Hamptons fever
Bidding wars for Hamptons rentals are erupting for some of the East End’s top residences.
Corcoran Group broker Tara Newman tells us that interest for one of her properties hit a fevered pitch after we featured it in a previous column.
She and colleague Anna O’Byrne received numerous calls and offers for the Sag Harbor listing, which we reported was rented out for $395,000 from Memorial Day through Labor Day – believed to be the highest seasonal price paid for a rental in the Sag Harbor area.
“All of the sudden, I got offers for $425,000 and $450,000,” Newman says and chuckles. “But the leases were
already signed, and the money had already been wired in.”
The seven-bedroom, nine-bath home on 2 waterfront acres features its own private beach, a floating dock, a professional croquet course, a heated pool and an outdoor dining pavilion. There’s also a billiards room, a wine cellar/tasting room, a screening room, a sauna, a steam room, a hot tub and a gym.
Anyone who wants to lock it up for summer 2009 can get in touch with Newman, who has the sales listing for $15.995 million.