UPDATED, Oct. 24, 1:35 p.m.: On Sunday night, the New York Post reported that fired “Today” show anchor Billy Bush had just listed his recently-purchased fixer-upper Chelsea townhouse.
The tabloid didn’t identify the townhouse, but sources tell The Real Deal that the home is at 224 West 22nd Street, and has in fact been on the market for 25 weeks.
224 West 22nd Street (credit: ODA)
The Post, citing anonymous sources, claimed that Bush had recently purchased a Chelsea townhouse to coincide with his move from Los Angeles to New York for the Today show gig. But according to the tabloid, his New York plans quickly changed when a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape detailing a candid, sexually-charged conversation with Donald Trump surfaced and he was fired last Monday by NBC. Citing anonymous sources, the Post claims Bush quickly moved to list his Chelsea townhouse.
TRD sources and records tell a different tale. According to city documents, the Chelsea townhouse has been on the market since April 29 for $8.995 million. Bush’s move to the Today show was announced in May of this year. Howard Morrel and Rebecca Kilborne of Engel & Volkers have the listing.
224 West 22nd Street (credit: ODA)
The home was purchased in December 2015 by Massachusetts-based JLM Trust, an entity affiliated with the famous Bush political dynasty. Documents filed with the city list Jonathan Bush as the successor trustee — meaning the trust could be controlled by Billy’s brother Jonathan, the CEO of athenahealth; or his father Jonathan, the younger brother of former President George H.W. Bush.
The prior owners of the townhouse, Empire City Realty’s Steven Ostad and business partner Andre Sakhai, received gut renovation permits in January 2015 to convert the former SRO into a modern five-bedroom abode spanning 7,000 square feet. They tapped Eran Chen’s architecture firm to design a full gut renovation and then sold the vacant townhouse to JLM Trust for $8.8 million, which at $1,257 per square foot was a conversion record for the neighborhood.
The Post claimed Billy was living in an apartment while the gut renovation was being completed. Its sources said his family stayed behind in Los Angeles.