From left: Howard Lorber, Leonard Steinberg, Herve Senequier, Dolly Lenz, Raphael De Niro and 41 W. 74th Street

A six-story Upper West Side townhouse has just sold for $12.5 million, according to the New York Observer, after a tumultuous past as a would-be condominium development. The townhouse, at 41 West 74th Street, which contains two 3,800-square-foot triplex units, was purchased by Prudential Douglas Elliman honcho Howard Lorber’s Vector Group this past August and was marketed by Elliman top dogs Leonard Steinberg, Herve Senequier, Dolly Lenz and Raphael De Niro. [more]

Listing agent Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens and images of 4 East 84th Street (interior listing photo obtained via the Times)

An Upper East Side townhouse originally commissioned by Frank Woolworth is about to shatter New York City records when it hits the market for $90 million, likely the highest-ever official asking price for a single-family home in Manhattan.

According to the New York Times, Brown Harris Stevens townhouse guru Paula Del Nunzio is readying that listing for 4 East 80th Street, the 17,676-square-foot mansion currently owned by the estate of fitness mogul Lucille Roberts, who died in 2003.

Industry sources said its $90 million asking price will by far eclipse any other for a townhouse in New York City history; Aby Rosen’s 22 East 71st Street and the mansion near Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s, at 1016 Madison Avenue, were each, in 2008, asking $75 million. Neither property sold, and both have since slashed their asking prices. [more]

From left: Dolly Lenz, Raphael De Niro, Joyce Kafati-Batarse and Leonard Steinberg

Superbroker Dolly Lenz and the De Niro Group, led by Raphael De Niro, took home the top prizes at this year’s Prudential Douglas Elliman company awards last night. Lenz won the award for top individual based on both gross commission income and transactions, while the De Niro Group took home the prize for top team based on commission income. The Joyce Kafati-Batarse Team took home the top team prize for number of transactions. The Leonard Steinberg-Luxury Loft Group was the second-place team, based on gross commission income. TRD [more]

A team of investors led by Todd Lippiatt of Aristone Realty Capital has come to the rescue at 245 10th Avenue, the 11-story condominium near the High Line that had been facing a foreclosure action and several lawsuits. According to the Wall Street Journal, the investors have bought out the debt holders at the property, including Citigroup and Hudson Realty Capital, which had filed to foreclose on their $43.3 million mortgage last March. Now, with the foreclosure action withdrawn, and the lawsuits, filed by contractors over allegedly unpaid work, settled, the project is on schedule to debut in the spring.  [more]

Images of the Downing Street townhouses and Leonard Steinberg, executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman

Two of the three Townhomes of Downing Street — which have been marketed together as one $33 million mega-home — ha [more]

A private driveway and garage at East 94th Street between Lexington and Third avenues is a rarity in Manhattan with more than 1.5 million cars competing for a scarcity of spots, the New York Times reported. Parking is becoming an expensive and often controversial luxury in New York City, as The Real Deal columnist Michael Stoler noted. The owners of the Upper East Side garage sued the city for the right to build it, but since then, the City Council has been cracking down on regulations meant to tighten restrictions on curb cuts and zoning laws to prevent others from doing the same. At a West Chelsea building at 200 11th Avenue, apartments with private garages range from $5 million to more than $17 million, broker Leonard Steinberg told the Times. Madonna paid $32 million for a townhouse with a two-car garage, but even a one-car garage could add more than $500,000 to the value of a house, said Dexter Guerrieri, president of Manhattan brokerage Vandenburg, the Townhouse Experts. [NYT]

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Manhattan’s super-luxury apartments, those selling for $10 million or more, outperformed the rest of the city’s housing market in the first quarter, Bloomberg reported. Agents say this a big departure from the market’s recession-era performance, when buyers were reluctant to drop a lot of cash on a new home. “The market has done a 180 [degree turn] from last year, when you had it drop pretty dramatically,” Leonard Steinberg, a top agent with Prudential Douglas Elliman, said. “Buyers need confidence to buy, not money, and confidence has returned.” The median price of the most expensive co-ops and condos climbed 6.4 percent from a year earlier, while all price ranges together dropped 11 percent from first-quarter 2009, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel. In all of 2009, there were 77 sales of $10 million or more with a median sales price of $12.8 million, the data shows. So far in 2010, 28 units have sold for a median price of $13.2 million. [Bloomberg]

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Manhattan’s super-luxury apartments, those selling for $10 million or more, outperformed the rest of the city’s housing market in the first quarter, Bloomberg reported. Agents say this a big departure from the market’s recession-era performance, when buyers were reluctant to drop a lot of cash on a new home. “The market has done a 180 [degree turn] from last year, when you had it drop pretty dramatically,” Leonard Steinberg, a top agent with Prudential Douglas Elliman, said. “Buyers need confidence to buy, not money, and confidence has returned.” The median price of the most expensive co-ops and condos climbed 6.4 percent from a year earlier, while all price ranges together dropped 11 percent from first-quarter 2009, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel. In all of 2009, there were 77 sales of $10 million or more with a median sales price of $12.8 million, the data shows. So far in 2010, 28 units have sold for a median price of $13.2 million. [Bloomberg]

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The palatial $19.9 million, seven-bedroom triplex penthouse at 54 Bond Street is continuing to draw celeb shoppers, according to the New York Post, with Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick the latest to check out the 7,137-square-foot condo. Other recent A-list visitors include actors Hugh Grant and Gerard Butler, both of whom recently stopped by the landmarked building between Lafayette Street and the Bowery. The penthouse is being marketed by Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier who, collectively, were ranked fourth in The Real Deal’s June list of the top performing Manhattan residential brokers. Among the unit’s cushy amenities are a rooftop kitchen and al fresco dining area. [Post, 1st item]

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The palatial $19.9 million, seven-bedroom triplex penthouse at 54 Bond Street is continuing to draw celeb shoppers, according to the New York Post, with Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick the latest to check out the 7,137-square-foot condo. Other recent A-list visitors include actors Hugh Grant and Gerard Butler, both of whom recently stopped by the landmarked building between Lafayette Street and the Bowery. The penthouse is being marketed by Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier who, collectively, were ranked fourth in The Real Deal’s June list of the top performing Manhattan residential brokers. Among the unit’s cushy amenities are a rooftop kitchen and al fresco dining area. [Post, 1st item]

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