Why not be bold in these uncertain economic times?
One ambitious homeowner is now asking $75 million for a property that didn’t sell when it was listed for $39 million in 2006 or $58 million in 2007.
The 12,000- square-foot, seven-story mixed-use townhouse at 1016 Madison Ave. includes 22 rooms and has 10 bedrooms. It’s owned by W. Graham Arader III, the proprietor of Arader Galleries, with locations that include New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
According to the Sotheby’s listing, the townhouse retains its original architectural details, has a central staircase and elevator and is suitable for an art gallery, office space or a retail tenant. The property is tied with a 21,000-square-foot townhouse on East 71st Street for the city’s second highest asking price. It’s only surpassed by an $80 million four-bedroom condo at 15 Central Park West.
Fantastic FiDi
It’s not all doom-and-gloom in the Financial District with “Fantastic Four” vixen Jessica Alba moving into the area, at least for the next several months. Sources tell us that the new yummy mummy is leasing a two-bedroom apartment at 20 Exchange Place, a rental building, while shooting the film “An Invisible Sign of My Own.”
The former bank building also served as the main set location in 2006 for Spike Lee’s “Inside Man.”
The actress has already been spotted by neighbors in the lobby with husband Cash Warren and their 3-month-old baby girl, Honor Marie.
Alba says her daughter will be a regular on the set once shooting begins.
“I love my daughter, and she’s going to be with me every day on the set,” she reportedly said. “To be honest with you, it’s tough – and if it was any other movie, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Alba will play an obsessive-compulsive math teacher in the film based on Aimee Bender’s novel “Invisible.”
Have a Hart
The longtime penthouse residence of Kitty Carlisle Hart is officially in contract after a relatively short time on the market.
The 10-room duplex co-op at 1185 Park Ave., which hit the market Sept. 18 with an asking price of $20 million, is where the late socialite and entertainer lived for 40 years.
The penthouse includes four bedrooms and 5½ baths and features a double-height entrance hall with bridal staircase, a living room and a library with woodburning fireplaces, a formal dining room, a solarium, a maid’s room and multiple terraces.
The listing broker is Katherine Marshall of Brown Harris Stevens.
What a free ride
Now that the weather has taken a turn for the colder, our thoughts are turning to the warmer climes.
And, needless to say, there are some deals to be made down yonder.
One rather intriguing offer we found was at South of Fifth, a 28-unit luxury low-rise being built in South Beach, where the developers will throw in a new Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, valued at $260,000, for those buying one of the last seven unsold residences. Those oceanfront units at 125 Ocean Drive are priced from $6 million to $8 million and range from 2,500 to 6,200 square feet.
The building is designed by architect John Nichols, who also worked on the relaunch of Fontainebleau Miami Beach, which is opening in November with restaurants from NYC’s Scott Conant and Alfred Portale.
Plaza pain
One Plaza buyer is now ready to take a loss on his investment. Oscar Schafer, the managing partner of OSS Capital Management, has lowered the price of his 17th-floor, three-bedroom condo from its $18 million June price to $14.5 million.
This is actually the apartment’s second price drop. There was a reduction to $16.5 million last month.
According to public records, the 2,800-square-foot unit, with park views, was purchased by Schafer in May for $14.94 million. Schafer could not be reached for comment.