Imagine this: pop sensation Jennifer Lopez pulls up in a chauffeur-driven limo in front of the boutique condominium building where she lives – maybe she’s just returning from a world tour – while former first daughter Chelsea Clinton walks out of the shiny lobby with her husband and newborn daughter in tow.
Or, maybe picture this: hedge fund manager John Silvetz bumps into NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon in the lobby, greeting the building’s full-time doorman on the way to his quick workout at the private gym on the lower level.
Welcome to The Whitman, where this could happen.
The Whitman at 21 East 26th Street
Jennifer Lopez is the most recent resident to join the small — yet noteworthy — community at The Whitman, a condo conversion by David Mitchell’s Mitchell Holdings at 21 East 26th Street overlooking Madison Square Park.
While the landmarked building only has four units — all designed by architect Jeffrey Cole — the amenities resemble those of a much larger building: a 24 hour-doorman, a private gym and storage units.
“It’s unheard of,” said Douglas Elliman’s Dina Lewis, who along with colleague Melanie Lazenby sold Clinton her 5,000-square-foot, four-bedroom pad for $10.5 million last March. Every unit spans a full floor and has a private foyer with private keyed elevator access.
The building’s residents use the units as their primary homes rather than as pieds-à-terre, Lewis said.
Sales launched in February 2013 and the three non-penthouse units sold very quickly, Lewis said.
The building was built in 1924 and originally served as a showroom and headquarters of a fabric importer. In 2011, Mitchell bought the building from the Plumbers Union for $13 million and proceeded to convert it into condos.
Penthouse at The Whitman
Below, a look at the building’s jet set.
Jennifer Lopez: $22 million for a duplex penthouse on the fifth and sixth floors
J. Lo bought the sprawling 6,500-square, two-story penthouse for $22 million earlier this month. The penthouse – for which she paid more than $3,300 per square foot – was originally listed for $25 million. The duplex was the last unit to be sold at The Whitman. Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund brokered the deal on J. Lo’s behalf, but declined to comment. The penthouse includes two staircases, two living rooms, two washer-dryer units as well as 3,000 square feet of Outdoor Terrace space divided over two levels.
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky: $9.25 million for the fourth floor
The former First Daughter and her husband bought the 4,967-square-foot unit for $9.25 million in July 2013. The couple paid $1,862 per square foot for their fourth-floor residence.
Hedge fund manager John Silvetz: $10 million for the third floor
BlueCrest Capital’s Silvetz and his model-wife Wilda Deon Bray bought the third-floor, 5,000-square-foot unit in August 2013 for $10 million, which equates to just over $2,000 per square foot.
NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon: $10 million for the second floor
The race car driver bought the second floor unit in the building in August of 2013 for $10 million – the same price as Silvetz paid. The unit, like the other full-floor units in the building, comes with four bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms as well as a special media room at the back of the apartment.