UPDATED Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 11:45 p.m.: An unusually wide townhouse in Lenox Hill just sold for $25.3 million, and this one is a bit of a handyman’s special.
The unfinished home was initially listed in March for $29.5 million and the sale closed on June 20, according to a source.
The seller, Manhattan landlord Stellar Management, bought the more than 12,000-square-foot townhouse at 134 East 74th Street in 2008 from artist Ellen Questel for $12 million. The house has seven bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms and Juliet balconies overlooking the garden. Originally built in the 1870s by prolific architect John Prague, it is a combination of two four-story buildings combined to form one 38-foot wide townhouse. Stellar’s partner in the deal was Hakimian Properties, which had a 25 percent interest in the project, according to public records.
The buyer is “Petaluma LLC,” the same source confirmed.
New York state corporation records show that Petaluma LLC was formed on May 9, but no registered agent was listed on Department of State filings. The LLC’s signatory, Great Neck-based real estate lawyer Patricia Doran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carrie Chiang and Loy Carlos of the Corcoran Group had the listing and declined to comment on the buyer’s identity. Stellar and the buyer’s broker, Sotheby’s International Realty’s Roberta Golubock, declined to comment.
Carlos said that while the townhouse was previously a mixed-used building with a store occupying the first two floors, Stellar has “completely converted” it into a single-family home.
The home was sold “as-is” with new appliances, electrical, plumbing, an elevator and HVAC system all installed, but the “rest is ready for the new owner to complete with whatever their desired finishes,” as Corcoran said in the listing.
Stellar first tried to sell the home back in 2011 at $26 million, but, after 468 days on the market, the listing was pulled, according to StreetEasy records.
The sale falls within the three-month window between New York State’s new progressive taxes on luxury residential property being passed in the new state budget and the taxes going into effect on July 1. There has been a flurry of activity among real estate attorneys and brokers ahead of the deadline as sellers and buyers try to avoid a larger tax bill. A source familiar with the deal said the buyer was “motivated to close before the new law came into effect.”
In the case of the townhouse on East 74th Street, closing taxes would have jumped from about $713,000 to $1.5 million if the transaction was wrapped up after July 1, based on The Real Deal‘s calculations.
Editor’s note: The story was updated to include Stellar’s partner in the deal, Hakimian Properties.