Michael Bloomberg is one unit away from townhouse domination

Michael Bloomberg already has one very swanky Upper East Side townhouse – the five-story, limestone beauty nestled between Fifth and Madison Avenues, which he lived in instead of Gracie Manson. But two homes are clearly much better than one.

Since 1989, the former New York City mayor has been gradually buying up units at 19 East 79th Street, the townhouse co-op that’s right next door to his current residence at number 17. Out of the six units in the white 1880 Greek-revival-style building, Bloomberg now owns five of them.

The Observer reports that Bloomberg, through Lamony III LLC, just purchased unit 3 from his neighbors Charles and Susana Finkel, for $14 million.

But what could he possibly be want to do with two adjoining townhouses? All signs point towards mega-mansion.

According to a New York Times article published in 2009, Bloomberg was already knocking down walls and combining floors. Roman Abramovich take note.