Historic Upper East Side mansion sells for $57 million after buyer viewed property over FACETIME – and paid millions extra for all its furnishings: Home has six beds, a pool and sauna
- The Upper East Side townhouse, built in the 1870s, sold for $57M in an off-market deal with South Africa buyer
- The seller, who is in the finance industry and paid $16 million for the home in 2012, was an entity tied to Felice Lasalvia di Clemente, who has served as an executive in the Italian organic grocery store industry
- The buyer, based in South Africa, viewed the property on FaceTime during the year it took for deal to close
- The 9,200-square-feet, 22-foot-wide home has six bedrooms, staff rooms, a private indoor pool and a sauna
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A historic townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has sold for $57 million to buyer in South Africa after he viewed the property over FaceTime.
The move-in ready home on East 68th Street spans 9,200 square feet, excluding two floors below street level, and boasts six bedrooms, staff rooms and an indoor pool and sauna.
It is the most expensive price per square foot ($6,200) ever for an Upper East Side townhouse, according to seller Ryan Serhant, who appears on Bravo reality show Million Dollar Listing.
The off-market deal of the 22-foot-wide property, which took a year to complete due to the a language barrier with the buyer, was priced in the low-$50 million range with millions added to include the home’s furnishings.
The buyer, who has not been identified, buyer is based in South Africa and wanted to wait until the recent renovations were completed before closing. They didn’t view the property in person until the deal was almost closed, instead keeping tabs on the pricey purchase over FaceTime calls.
A Historic townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has sold for $57 million in an off-market deal to a buyer based in South Africa after he viewed the property over FaceTime
It is the most expensive price per square foot ($6,200) ever for an Upper East Side townhouse, according to seller Ryan Serhant, who appears on Bravo reality show Million Dollar Listing
According to the Wall Street Journal, the seller was an entity tied to Felice Lasalvia di Clemente, an executive at an Italian grocery store chain, and paid $16 million for the townhouse in 2012.
It sits just a block-and-a-half from Central Park, and is steps away from the upmarket boutiques of Madison Avenue.
The property sits in the most coveted part of the Upper East Side, with addresses west of Lexington Avenue traditionally commanding a price premium over those which sit closer to the East River.
Its new owner can keep their eye out for high-profile neighbors too – both famous and infamous. Woody Allen is a longtime Upper East Side resident, as are Drew Barrymore, Bill Murray and Samuel L Jackson.
Past residents included the disgraced late Fox News boss Roger Ailes, Jeffrey Epstein and his jailed madam Ghislaine Maxwell, whose former property sat on East 65th Street.
The image on the left is a rendering of a front façade proposed in 2015. The photo on the right is of the front façade at the time before the renovations. The rowhouse was first modified in the neo-Classical style by Morris & O’Connor in 1932
A street view of the townhouse as the renovations were being completed. The buyer waited for completion before closing
Loy Carlos of Serhant represented the seller with brokerage founder Ryan Serhant. He added that the The townhouse was listed in the $50 million range, but the final price was higher with the addition of the furnishings.
Italian artisans were hired by the sellers for the interior of the home, according to Carlos. He added that some of the interiors were designed by Achille Salvagni, an Italian architect known for designing ultraluxury yachts.
The Upper East Side property designed by R.W. Buckley was built in 1879 and modified in the Neoclassical style by Morris & O’Connor in 1932, according to the nonprofit Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts.
In 2015, there was a proposal for more renovations which included reconstruction of the front façade, modifications to the roof and rear façade, removal of the fifth floor balcony and work to excavate the cellar.
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