Calling all starving artists. Kenny White, a singer-songwriter who owns an “artist’s garret” at the West Village’s storied Twin Peaks co-op building, slashed the price of his apartment by $225,000 yesterday to $1.45 million, or about 13 percent less than when it first hit the market in mid-February.
Twin Peaks, an 1832 townhouse at 102 Bedford Street between Christopher and Grove streets, was converted into 10 studio apartments in the 1920s to capitalize on the growing trend of artists moving to the West Village, according to news reports. The addition of two Medieval-style peaked roofs gave the building its name.
Cary Grant, Miles Davis, Walt Disney and the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. are said to have stayed there. Debi Mazar, an actress who played Shauna Roberts on the television show “Entourage” and was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars,” lived in the unit before White moved in, he told The Real Deal.
Maria Torresy and Mara Papasoff, both senior vice presidents and managing directors at Brown Harris Stevens, have the listing.
The walk-up unit, described in the listing as “the epitome of West Village bohemian charm,” looks almost rustic, with exposed rafters, wood beams and brick walls. At about 950 square feet, with a master bedroom and elevated 150-square-foot loft bedroom, the apartment was combined from two studio-sized units, Papasoff said.
“It’s a very creative place,” she said. “You don’t feel that you’re in New York City. You feel more [that] you could be upstate somewhere, or the Adirondacks, almost.”
White started his career working on commercial jingles and soundtracks for such films as “Message in a Bottle” and “Ed TV.” In 2010 he released the album “Comfort in the Static.”
White said his frequent traveling has made it difficult for him to keep up duties as president of Twin Peaks’ co-op board. As a musician, he said he is hoping a change of scenery will provide a boost to his art. He is considering renting in the West Village or possibly Brooklyn.
“It’s a wonderful, creative space [and] I’ve written a lot of stuff here, but I need some kind of catalyst,” he said, adding, “Every time I’ve gone through any kind of move it’s been a catharsis.”
White bought his first studio in the building in 2000, paying $275,000, then in 2004 combined the unit with the adjacent apartment, which he bought for $250,000, he said.
A neighbor recalled seeing Miles Davis, whose girlfriend lived on the first floor of Twin Peaks in the 1970s, passed out in the vestibule.
Fairbanks moved into the building in 1926 and lived there for two years, White said, citing information from a past board president, and Grant is rumored to Have Lived With Him For Several Months While Looking For His Own Place to live.
As for his motivation to chop the price, White said he only got one offer after a number of showings. He does not plan to cut the price further, he said, especially since the board is planning a restoration on the building to fix the exterior stucco, refurbish the roof and restore the structure to its original paint colors.
Torresy is best known for representing Dmitry Rybolovlev in the record-breaking $88 million purchase of the penthouse at 15 Central Park West.