What do Rebel Wilson, Meg Ryan and Jake Gyllenhaal have in common?
They’re the latest celebs to purchase homes at 443 Greenwich St. — a 53-unit downtown Manhattan condo that’s quickly become an unexpected haven for the rich and famous.
Wilson, Ryan and Gyllenhaal join pop-music titan Justin Timberlake and his wife, Jessica Biel — who scored a four-bedroom penthouse this spring for $20.18 million — and singer Harry Styles, said to be the buyer of an $8.7 million pied-à-terre.
But they won’t bump into Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence; she just rented her three-bedroom there, which last asked $27,500 monthly, StreetEasy shows. (Listing broker Pamela D’Arc of Stribling & Associates declined to comment on the deal.)
“Every so often, [a building] becomes a magnet for celebrities and other bold-face names,” says property appraiser and luxury-market expert Jonathan Miller, of Miller Samuel. “And 443 Greenwich is clearly the one now.”
How did this Tribeca residence and its star-studded predecessors — such as 150 Charles St. — emerge as “It” buildings? Insiders agree that the phenomenon doesn’t solely rely on celebs following each other, or the lure of glitz and glamour.
High-tech privacy features are another major selling point; they provide strong security and make the feeling of a regular home possible — and keep these properties relevant to bold-facers farther down the line.
In the macro sense, these addresses prove themselves special from their inception — and this helps spur buyers to want a piece of the action. The limestone-clad 15 Central Park West — home to Sting, whose duplex penthouse is listed for $56 million in a Corcoran/Sotheby’s co-exclusive, and Denzel Washington — best shows this link. With sales in the $2 billion range, it became the world’s most successful apartment building.
“Right from the beginning, it was setting records,” says Michael Gross, the author of the 2014-published “House of Outrageous Fortune,” which focuses on 15CPW. And to this day, he adds, “[it’s] retained its allure.”
Beyond big prices, it’s also the vibe inside these “star buildings” that counts.
“[An ‘It’ building] is where a celebrity can feel anonymous,” says Douglas Elliman’s Darren Sukenik, who was on the sales and marketing team for the 2013-launched 150 Charles St. in the West Village.
Big-deal buyers included rock star Jon Bon Jovi, who grabbed a four-bedroom for $12.87 million (he listed it last month for $17.25 million with Corcoran) and now-separated couple Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, who still own a $15.31 million four-bedroom inside.
Model Irina Shayk bought a $6.08 million unit in 2015, but rented it out last year.
Indeed, 150 Charles epitomizes the condo as provider of anonymity.
“For the most part [the celebrities] keep to themselves,” says Compass President Leonard Steinberg, who was also part of that building’s sales team in his Elliman days and has resided in a two-bedroom there since 2015. He notes the general atmosphere remains calm and that he hasn’t seen paparazzi outside. “They are very friendly and normal people — and I think they really appreciate being treated like normal people as opposed to gods.”
The key to ensuring this atmosphere is top-of-the-line security. At 150 Charles, a private motor court goes through the building. It’s monitored round the clock and reached via a private driveway located away from Charles Street itself.
“No one sees anything,” Steinberg says.
At 443 Greenwich, a sensor grants entry to the gated, 24/7-monitored garage, where residents can be discreetly dropped off in a lower-level lobby and never be seen by either paparazzi or passers-by.
“That’s the ultimate privacy,” says Mitchell Wasser, the director of marketing and sales at MetroLoft, which developed the building. (Wasser declined to comment on buyers.)
Locations in low-key neighborhoods also help — specifically those separated from Manhattan’s tourist crush in areas such as Midtown. Take 200 11th Ave., where Nicole Kidman resides, which is on a quiet West Chelsea block. In-house amenities, such as a gym, mean celebs can work out without ever going outside.
Despite precautionary measures, cameras don’t always shy away from celeb addresses. At Tribeca’s 155 Franklin St., Orlando Bloom sold his three-bedroom for $5.6 million in 2015 because neighbor Taylor Swift turned the place into a paparazzi zoo. Shutterbugs also gathered outside 200 11th Ave. following the 2014 suicide of longtime Mick Jagger girlfriend, L’Wren Scott, who lived — and died —
in unit 9S.
Before this wave of fame-filled developments, other buildings stole the spotlight. Starchitect Richard Meier’s 2002-constructed 173 and 176 Perry St. not only set a precedent for design-driven residences, but also saw Martha Stewart and Nicole Kidman buy homes there over the course of several years. (A third tower at 165 Charles St., which lured Natalie Portman, followed in 2004.)
Before that, NYPD headquarters at 240 Centre St. were converted into apartments in 1988. The Police Building became the sole true white-glove address in Lower Manhattan, and lured models Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.
Uptown, the San Remo’s lenient board made it popular for figures including Dustin Hoffman, Demi Moore and Glenn Close, but famously turned away Madonna in July 1985, the same month she appeared nude in Playboy.
Do these starry buildings still glow?
Meier’s towers have since seen the departures of Portman, Stewart and Kidman. (At 165 Charles, a penthouse that once aimed for $40 million is now available for $29.95 million.) Those aforementioned models have also left the Police Building. Even its domed penthouse, which Calvin Klein and Steffi Graf once separately owned, was recently listed for $27.9 million — down from $35 million. The San Remo saw Demi Moore’s penthouse sell in April for $45 million — $30 million below its original $75 million ticket.
When famous residents leave, though, buildings’ values don’t necessarily struggle (or soar). Miller says the celebrity affiliation has little to do with prices.
Rather, posh real estate is simply overpriced. Across NYC in the second quarter, properties saw their asks discounted an average of 10.4 percent before they sold, according to Miller’s latest tallies for Douglas Elliman.
In terms of lasting star power, on the other hand, Steinberg maintains celebrities, like the rest of us, are people, too. They come, they go — but their impact on an “It” building often remains. Whether this will be the case at 443 Greenwich and Manhattan’s other celeb-filled condos remains to be seen.
“There’s only one answer to that,” says Steinberg. “Time.”