By Gus Saltonstall
After years of complaints over construction noise and debris, a buyer has signed a contract for a townhouse at 48-50 West 69th Street, between Columbus and Central Park West, that was asking for $85 million, as reported by The Real Deal.
While the sale price isn’t public as of June 2, if the property closed for $85 million, which was its most recent asking price, it would be the most expensive deal ever for a home on the Upper West Side. It would fall $5 million short of the record for a townhouse sale in the city, a $90 million Upper East Side address that sold in 2018.
This is not the first time that 48-50 West 69th Street has made headlines.
The two addresses were bought by a French businessman and his wife in 2011 for $24.5 million. The buildings were then demolished in 2018 and replaced by one larger combined property. During that construction period, a petition created by neighbors in 2019 complained that “The people who live on both West 69th Street and West 68th Street awaken each morning to the jolting sounds and vibrations of jackhammers digging deeper into the center of the earth like thunderous meteor showers hitting the land.”
The same year, the New York Times penned an article about the project titled — “That Noise? The Rich Neighbors Digging a Basement Pool in Their $100 Million Brownstone.”
Reporting at the time estimated that the owners put around $100 million into combining and renovating the two addresses.
Here is a video from Gothamist that gives an idea of the construction noise that went along with the project.
The newly formed eight-story townhouse has five bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, a limestone floating staircase, fireplaces, a 55-foot indoor lap pool, and a wraparound terrace, according to a listing.
You can see photos of the inside of the property — HERE.
Read More:
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
$85 million? Well, at least we know that if they don’t live in it year-round, they will be subject to the highest percentage rate of the new “pied-a-terre” tax. I hope they figured that into their annual maintenance and other costs. Of course, if you can afford $85 million for a town house, then you can afford the relatively small extra tax.
You have a point.
I guess someone has to pay for all of Mamdani’s “free” services.
Envy does live rent free in a persons psyche.
I doubt many people envy this sort of excess.
Lots of noise, a housing investment for a single billionaire, zero affordability – a tower with lots of apartments better than this monstrosity on every dimension. Reserving a huge portion of our neighborhood for this type of housing no longer makes any sense.
Everyone should have a $100 million townhouse. Besides, in the future due to hyper inflation, this will be quite the bargain and likely a beach front property to boot!
Money’s an illusion folks!
I cannot imagine why anyone would mock or object to folks pouring tens of millions of dollars of investment into the neighborhood. Think of owners like this as anchor stores in a mall–with an investment of that size, they will have every incentive to stop the degradation of the neighborhood. And the exteriors of the buildings from what I have seen are absolutely beautiful. I say, welcome neighbors!
Yeah let’s all live in a mall! Think of your neighborhood like a mall! Bjjk can live in Dillard’s and sleep behind the perfume counter! Think of it like an investment! I’ll live in The Sharper Image or Spencer’s Gifts because in this future there are no homes owned by the average person anymore! We’ll be neighbors!
Sorry, this is nonsensical but admittedly the logical conclusion to the hoax of supply side economics. If you’re talking about tens of millions of dollars invested, it’s far more optimal to have that spread around the entire community than focused on a single private residence.
I hope the new owners enjoy their home. But they will not be lifting up the entire Upper West Side.
Looked at the photos…. Stunning! They did a great job on the renovation.. that staircase and pool…. That being said it would have sucked to have had to live nearby during the renovation
It’s actually 2 houses combined and increased in height by 3 stories. The new owner could be convert part of it into an airbnb to make it more affordable.
And this is what NYC will be now. Assisted housing/NYCHA and mulri-millionaires. No in between for the people working hard to be here. No one is building normal housing for people who do not “qualify” for government assistance (and many people do not believe in asking for government assistance).
Only new housing for lowest income and multi-millionaires now planned in NYC. The in-between, you don’t matter and you should leave, despite how much in taxes you have paid over the years. If you make between $60,,000 to $100,000/year, there is no rent you can afford. That’s what this city is saying. I have not heard of anything being built or considered in between. Any proof otherwise?
I think it looks great! The architect did a great job.
I wouldn’t have paid more than $80 million.
This is a perfect example of a candidate for the pied-a- terre tax. This mansion is most certainly a 2nd home that sits empty when owners are at their other homes. This is taking away space for housing from actual NY’ers.
No elevator? An 8th story walk-up for $85 million. Tsk, tsk. As to Bjjk’s comment that the building will be an “anchor” for new businesses. West 69th St. is not rundown. It does not need something to attract new businesses. Have you taken a stroll along Columbus Avenue recently?
At least it didn’t become a boutique hotel — that was always the rumor. It looks gorgeous, but I’m sad that the neighbors suffered for so long through the construction process. Hoping that someone who truly loves New York and the UWS will live here and take care of it.