Clockwise from top left: Chelsea Modern, Farrell’s apartment, Robert Gladstone and Brian Farrell

When the first three buyers failed to close on townhouse-style gallery duplexes in the Chelsea Modern building at 447 West 18th Street, between Ninth and 10th avenues, earlier this year, developer Robert Gladstone, owner of Madison Equities, turned to a new marketing strategy– inviting a celebrity artist to live in the building — for free. The developers have provided a $2.85 million, 2,700-square-foot gallery duplex to New York City-based artist and “Real Housewives of New York” guest star Brian Farrell (he’s the one that dated and painted ‘Real Housewife’ Sonja Morgan’s portrait on the show) to use as his painting studio and gallery. He has been encouraged to host events with the goal of driving prospective buyers to the building. [more]

(Updated: 12:58 p.m.) The new brightly lit Limelight Marketplace is a great departure from the notorious nightclub with a very dark past. While the exterior of the building and detailed stained glass windows remain, the 163-year-old Episcopal church-turned Limelight nightclub has been transformed into a trendy shopping emporium and given a new name: Limelight Marketplace. The 25,000-square-foot building, at 656 Sixth Avenue and 20th Street, has two full stories and a multi-level maze of 60 little shops on the perimeter of a hollowed out space. The retailers offer a small portion of their inventory in spaces
ranging from 100 to 700 square feet, according to a spokesperson for the
marketplace, giving them a pop-up shop feel. And in a way they are,
with leases ranging from six months to a year. Stars from “The Real Housewives of New York City” were on hand at the grand opening cocktail party last night. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” said “Housewife” Jill Zarin, co-owner of Zarin Fabrics. “It’s a great place to come gift shopping.”
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Jill Zarin and her condo at 401 East 60th Street

Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New York” star Jill Zarin has put her three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath Upper East Side apartment at 401 East 60th Street on the market for $3.2 million. The unit was first listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Callae Brownstein and Howard Margolis six days ago, according to Streeteasy.com. The 1,956-square-foot apartment, which was famously redecorated on the show with help from husband Bill Zarin’s firm, Zarin Fabrics, has 10-foot ceilings and large windows. [Post] and [US Magazine]
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