Friday, September 28, 2007

Ron Burkle's Swimming Pool in the Sky


BUYER: Ron Burkle
SELLER: Jonathan Leitersdorf
LOCATION: 704 Broadway, New York, NY
PRICE: $17,500,000 / monthly charges: $7,836
SIZE: 11,000 square feet (approx.), 5 bedrooms 5.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: One of the most unique and spectacular homes in the world, this Penthouse triplex home in the sky boasts: 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths, 2 powder rooms, 13'-17' ceilings, more than 50 windows, and a landscaped forest alongside a heated outdoor swimming pool...Unmatched amenities include two separate professional grade kitchens, W/D on each level, exquisitely detailed with massive Danish Tudor wood burning fireplace, two separate sound systems controlled from every room with speaker throughout.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Braden Keil, the virtuoso celebrity real estate writer at the New York Post, was on fire this week telling all us disciples about half a dozen big buys and sells in and around New York City including some juicy tidbits about the sale of a very well known downtown Manhattan penthouse that former owner Jonathan Lietersdorf recently sold to billionaire grocery store tycoon Ron Burkle.

The triplex penthouse sits atop a non-descript building, called "The Dandy," that offers residents a central location near the Bowery Bar and BondSt, but no luxury amenities such as a doorman, which might be the least one could expect when coughing up nearly $20,000,000 for a Manhattan penthouse.

Built by venture capitalist Mister Lietersdorf as a pied a terre for himself, the residence doubled as an event space called Sky Studios that could be rented for private parties, photos shoots, and other such glamorous and typically New York functions. Sex and the City shot at least one episode here, presidential daughter Chelsea Clinton had a birthday party here, and Jerry Seinfeld was married in the gargantuan living room on the first level.

The 11,000 square foot behemoth has ridiculously high ceilings, 50+ windows, walls of glass, a panic room behind the library bookcases, and a carpet of green grass and a small "forest" on the Eastern terrace. But by far the most remarkable and notable feature of the aerie is the heated swimming pool that hangs over the city with 360 degree views as far as the eye can see.

Mister Lietersdorf first put this impressive home on the market in 2002 for $27,500,000, but had to reduce the price over the years to it's final asking price of $18,750,000 before anyone took the plunge to purchase the 5 bedroom 5.5 bathroom mansion in the sky.

According the the NY Post and records on file with the city, the Los Angeles based Mister Burkle, who pocketed billions from buying and selling huge grocery store chains, paid $17,500,000 for the penthouse that Your mama imagines he will use infrequently.

While he comes from modest means and is often thought of as a very down to earth guy (for a billionaire), the famously private jeans wearing Mister Burkle is no stranger to a large and lavish lifestyle and travels in a private 757 airplane. Lawhd children, just imagine Mister Burkle's yearly fuel bill for that steel bird.

In California, where he lives in an extremely posh section of Beverly Hills in a legendary 23,114 square foot house on a deliciously beautiful estate called "Green Acres," his nearby neighbors include fellow billionaire Miss David Geffen, filthy rich dee-vorcé Suzanne Saperstein, and Paris's grand daddy Baron Hilton, just to name a few.

Unless this purchase was simply an investment and/or a convenient place to park a wad of cash, Your Mama can't imagine Mister Burkle will continue to lease the place out for the weddings and bar mitzvahs of Manhattan's demi monde. But then again, it's hard to believe that even a down to earth billionaire would call a doorman-less building home.

Sources: New York Post, New York Observer, New York Magazine

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eventually!!! ... God, this place has bn on the market for ages ... at one point the owner was also including a yacht or something like that to tempt buyers ...

Pretty central location but at the same time I detest Broadway - my least favourite downtown street though I guess once you're north of Houston it's a little less crowded ... Cool space & a pool to rival Soho House but no doorman would put me off & if you decide to sell in a couple of years you're screwed! ... Didn't Britney live in this building also?

Anonymous said...

Spectacular home, once you are inside the door of the actual apartment. It would just be so hard to give up the typical amenities of a $20M home for this place, as great a space as it is.

But, if you can afford a home at this price point, just hire a couple of butlers and a security man. There's your solution to no door man right there.

The big problem with this place, though, is that it is obviously a TOUGH sell. I didn't even know it was still privately on the market.

so_chic_darling said...

Great place but that part of Broadway is strictly for ghetto shopping only!
Or loud Italian tourists with too many Euros.

Anonymous said...

Ralph Lauren has shot so much of his spreads here.

Anonymous said...

Would never buy the place to that price -- too many other options available. Also, many parties/events have been held there -- every jackass in town has either thrown up or banged someone in the can.

Anonymous said...

Nice place to use for a few weekends a year. His Beverly Hills home, Greenacres....is the former Harold Lloyd Estate. It's got to be worth $50-100 million, based on the asking prices of other nearby homes mentioned on this site. (so $17 mil is just a small crash pad)

Don't worry about the doorman. Greenacres is supposed to have security like the White House. The new pad in NYC will be well guarded.

Anonymous said...

Bill Clinton stays at Burkle's Beverly Hills house. I guess Bill will have a place to stay in NYC, if he doesn't already have one now.

Unknown said...

You know, I had a client refer to the half bath as a "powder room" and I see it in this listing. Is that an east coast thing?

Anonymous said...

No it's a decorator thing.

Anonymous said...

These days, that term could be used on any coast or in any state.

It depends on what type of "powder" you're using but it sure can be a fitting term, no?

Anonymous said...

I read an article on this place years ago, talking about the renovation of the apartment and the whole building. The article claimed that he paid just 2.5MILL for the entire building, which had to be gutted. Nice long-term project turn over, and I love his somewhat unconventional eye for design.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't want to live in that neighborhood either. Also, the dining room (or really breakfast room) appears minuscule on the floor plan. Maybe it's deceptive.

Anonymous said...

Quote: [Great place but that part of Broadway is strictly for ghetto shopping only!]


What exactly is "ghetto shopping"?

Anonymous said...

I love that we get the plans with these NY properties

Anonymous said...

I have been blogging about this place for years. And now I will have to again. Thanks for letting me know!

Fat Man said...

704 B'way is hard by the main NYU campus.

Airplanes cannot be steel birds. They are built with aluminum. Before WWII many were built with wood and fabric. Many advanced designs like the Boeing 787 use carbon fiber composites, but the old 757 is beer cans.

Anonymous said...
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