The penthouse that iPod parts built has sold for $8.5 million, sources told The Real Deal, in the most expensive resale deal for a condominium north of 96th Street.
Jeff Grady, who invented one of the first protective iPod cases and various iPhone accessories, unloaded his 4,000-square-foot condominium at Ariel East late last month. Extell Development’s 38-story, 64-unit glass tower is located at 2628 Broadway Near 100th Street in the Upper West Side.
Though the sale has yet to hit public records, Amelia Gewirtz, a broker with Halstead Property who listed the unit with her colleague, Andrew Phillips, confirmed the sale price. At $2,125 per square foot, the condo was the most expensive to trade in Upper Manhattan — both by unit price and by price per square foot, according to The Real Deal‘s review of StreetEasy data — save for a penthouse in Upper Carnegie Hill, which was a sponsor sale. That condo, at 1200 Fifth Avenue Near 101st Street, sold for $15 million in 2009, records show.
The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom duplex hit the market in January asking $12.5 million.
Grady bought the duplex for $6.1 million in 2007 and customized it as a paean to rock music and Pop art. The dining room chairs, printed with copies of Warhol portraits, as well as a $500,000 chandelier were not included in the deal, Gewirtz said. However, the family who bought the apartment requested Grady’s telescope and custom-made art shades with hand-painted images of the city, she said. The unit also has a fireplace, wraparound terrace and the largest kitchen in the building.
Gewirtz declined to identify the buyer or the buyer’s broker.
“The 360-degree views from the wraparound windows make you feel like you have an all-access pass to New York City,” said Gewirtz, referring to views of Central Park and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
The building has a pool, a 24-hour doorman and access to The Basketball Court at nearby sister building Ariel West, the listing said.
In 2007, Grady sold his company, Digital Lifestyle Outfitters, to Royal Phillips Electronics for $100 million. His main residence is in Charleston, S.C. He used the Manhattan condo as a pied-à-terre for attending concerts in the city, Gewirtz said.
Additional reporting by Zachary Kussin