Russian developer Janna Bullock has listed a yet-to-be-built new development townhouse for $40 million at 34 East 62nd Street, according to data from Streeteasy.com. The site is the onetime location of a townhouse famously blown up by Nicholas Bartha, a doctor who is believed to have destroyed the home in order to avoid selling the home and splitting the proceeds with his ex-wife. He was in the property when it exploded in 2006, and later died from his injuries.
The lot is currently vacant, said listing broker Lisa Verdi of Sotheby’s International Realty, and construction on the new townhouse will begin once a deal is made.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has reportedly approved the site for a four-bedroom single-family residence designed by architect Preston Phillips. The project will be one of the first LEED-certified townhouses in Manhattan.
“It’s going to be an amazing house,” Verdi said, “a very unique property.”
Plans for the 8,000-square-foot, five-story limestone and glass townhouse include a sunken living room. In a south-facing courtyard. According to the listing, a waterfall will cascade into the basement, which houses an indoor pool and spa. Light will filter into the pool from glass paving in the courtyard above.
It’s been more than five years since Bartha blew up his townhouse. Bullock — well-known for successfully renovating and flipping Manhattan townhouses — bought the vacant lot for $8.3 million in 2007 and quickly announced plans for the new LEED-certified home, but plans for the project reportedly stalled during the recession.
Bullock was not immediately available for comment.