Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Richie Sambora Buys Philadelphia Condo


BUYER: Richie Sambora
LOCATION: 2 Liberty Place, Philadelphia, PA
PRICE: $3,580,000
SIZE: 2,600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Listen children, we know we're a little late to the publicity rodeo ring on this one, but we're gonna discuss it anyway. According to piles of reports, rehabbed Bon Jovi gee-tarist and gossip glossy favorite Richie Sambora dropped a record breaking amount of money for a sky-high condominium in downtown Philadelphia.

Philadelphia? For reals? Ain't a thing wrong with Philadelphia children, but it's just not a city we expect an L.A.-based rock star with an L.A.-based gurlfriend to be snatching up a high priced condo.

Your Mama really has no idea why the aging rock star, a native New Jersian who reportedly also owns homes in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach, would spend three and some million clams on an apartment in Philadelphia. Maybe he's got a thing for American history? Or maybe he has a burning desire to be near Pat's King of Steaks where he can eat all the cheese covered meat his heartburn can handle? Or maybe, just maybe, he figures that Philly is a very long way away from his anxiety prone ex-wifey Heather Locklear and his publicity hungry former luvergurl Denise Richards? Could be. But the truth is Your Mama don't know nuthin' from nuthin about Mister Sambora's real estate motivations children, so don't anybody quote us on our nonsensical brain farting.

Anyhoo, Mister Sambora's new crib in the clouds high above The City of Brotherly Love, for which he paid a reported $3,580,000, is said to be on the 52 floor of the unimaginatively named The Residences at Two Liberty Place. According to the building's website Mister Sambora's three bedroom and 3.5 bathroom unit measures in at 2,600 square feet and encompasses two glassy corners of the pointy Helmut Jahn designed mixed use tower which has the not entirely impressive distinction of being the third tallest skyscraper in all of Philadelphia.

The floor plan shows that Mister Sambora will lay claim to a corner living/dining room, a well equipped kitchen and a small, windowless office space where his personal assistant can toil away without being seen or heard. Given the windowless location di-rectly across from the windowless kitchen, Your Mama sincerely hopes that Mister Sambora's dinner guests will refrain from making messy post-dinner B.Ms in the powder room. Each of the bedrooms includes a private pooper and a reasonable amount of closet space, both dee-lishus details. However, the bedrooms share long walls which for obvious reasons Your Mama hopes have been sound proofed.

The children will please keep in mind that the photos here depict model units and not the chosen day-core of Mister Sambora. Although we suspect (and hope) that Mister Sambora is not the bulky black leather sofa type of man, we don't imagine he's planning on having his nice gay decorator do up his new nest in a palette of hot pink and black. We only included these pictures to give y'all and idea of the generous window sizes that provide glittery if vertigo inducing views over Philadelphia.

While in residence, Mister Sambora will have access to the building's long list of amenities which include white glove staff service, concierge, a private heath club with exercise equipment, spa treatment rooms and an indoor swimming pool, an owners club where residents can hobnob with other residents while sipping sherry and reading the paper, a card room for all the folks like Your Mama that swoon over a cribbage board, refrigerated storage for grocery deliveries, a bizness center, a pet care center, a private mail room as well as room service from and preferred seating in the 37th floor restaurant.

That's right children, really rich rock stars with frizzy hair don'ts like to be pampered just like all the other fancy folks out there.

33 comments:

Natalia said...

I'm guessing he probably spends some considerable time there attending Soul games w/ Jon...maybe?

Anonymous said...

I have never referred to it as "white staff service." "White glove" is a term I am quite familiar with -- and I could understand "white glove staff service," but "white staff service" conjures up an image in my mind that it probably should not?!

Am I out of touch with the wealthy?

Your Mama said...

No baby, we just made a mistake...now corrected. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Philadelphia is not Boston. It may be hard to find "White staff service".

njpaNick said...

1. The Residences at Two Liberty PLACE

2. Us Philly kids have known about this for 6 months.
http://www.philebrity.com/2008/02/26/rumblings-the-high-life-2/
Is there a publicist trying to churn butter somewhere? Or did we just get the photos?

Anonymous said...

Don't you know it's always sunny in Philadelphia?

Heh heh heh.

Anonymous said...

Let's discuss that kitchen design in the photo for a moment. If you were putting in a wall oven, etc, wouldn't you include the micro in that stack to give the kitchen a cleaner look? Also, while we're on the subject of that stack, why is it all the way over past the fridge. Seems like it might be better closer to the range....thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Who the hell lays down that kinda bread to live in Philly?

Anonymous said...

what a ho-hum floor plan. Its the same tract house master bath I live with everyday...

Anonymous said...

well...Ive never seen our mama down here in the comments section! Come hang out with the children more!

Anonymous said...

I live 2/3-rds of the year in the Philly area, this was news around here several months ago...at the time, the question raised locally both in private conversations (mine included) and at least one newspaper was "is Richie really buying this place, or is this a publicity stunt to drum up interest in the condos..."...sadly, Richie would pass as enough of a celebrity to be used for this purpose in Philly...and it's also true that while Jon bon Jovi is a regular presence in town (I've even bumped into him randomly on a Center City streetcorner...), Richie is not known to actually hang out in Philadelphia by those of us who live here and would know it/him if he did...

Anonymous said...

Also, the reason explaining some of the architectural anomalies of the apartment (long bedroom walls, windowless rooms deep inside from the outside windows, etc) is that 2 Liberty was not originally developed as a mixed-use tower but as 100% office space, and is much "thicker" (Even at the top) than most buildings built for residential purposes would be...they only converted the top 20 or so floors to condos starting about a year or 2 ago...

chris said...

The bedroom walls may be long but they don't abut or share walls with other apartments which is good. I can tolerate my own noise, but not that of other folk.

Anonymous said...

Found you today after watching the R. Zoe show and falling head over heels in love with the house. I will actually have to watch the show because of the house, I can't stand her awful mean assistant but I will suffer through it just to see the house. I am about to spend the next hour on your blog, and I am hoping you have the house from the first "Rock Star" show the one with INX another show I watched because of the house and that house on Next Top Model the one in Hollywood with the Frank L. Wright style bricks, courtyard, newly renovated... I am so excited I have to go check out this blog...

-Tabs

Anonymous said...

Tabs - Welcome to Mama's children's playroom. Be warned that some of the children don't play nice.

The house from Next Top Model was Sowden House in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son, Lloyd Wright (he was really Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. but went by Lloyd).

Anonymous said...

The mircowave is over the range as a microwave hood which is very common. Some of you stretch so hard to find osmething to bitch about in these homes. I would much rather have the espresso maker in the stack with the oven then just have a microwave.

Anonymous said...

wow. its a big place!!!

Anonymous said...

I had a Mircowave. It was the best hair styling iron ever! Made my wigs nice and wavy. Just like a miracle!

Anonymous said...

He is co-owner of the Philadelphia Soul with Mr. Bon Jovi; that's why he has purchased a residence there. My little sister knows him personally and she just told me. Big hugs to Mama and everyone from Sunny in Denver!

Anonymous said...

This is truly the nation of the super rich

if you want to really have the best and live life now,

you have to pay millions every year for that privilege

Sambora does not care that his penthouse will be worth 300k in a year or two

he makes way to much money to worry about that

just as many others who are now real buyers not investors

the truth of the matter is that the current buyers paying millions or tens of millions way above the real value are connoisseurs of their lifestyles and they want the best

they could care less that the sky is falling, they just want to be living it up in the lap of high luxury as it falls down

so I can understand many of these ridiculous sales

but then again I am a investor not a buyer

so as an investor I will say time and time again the prices are coming down, way way way down

even Lehman Brothers just said the market is coming down another 50%

I say 80%

and so even though I know what I know to be true, I have to miss out on living the high life because of folks like sambora and others who have money to burn from all of those albums, tv shows, movies I, my brothers, sisters supported as kids, teens and as adults

and for now I am forced to rent

ironic isn't it

supporting those that now cause my dream world to be presently unattainable

Anonymous said...

Philly? Porquoi Philly?

Anonymous said...

Debbie, I'm not sure what the point would be to address all your, er, points...but I'll start with two:

One, most people, even the rich and super-rich, DO care about prices, and believe me, when they go down, they do sulk, complain and worry - even though it SHOULD make no difference to them. Human nature. IMO, it's the rare one that just does it, enjoys it, and doesn't worry about the realized or unrealized loss.

Two, you're not SUPPORTING these people, you're buying something they have and that you want. If you like Richie's music, you buy it. It seems a lot of people must, because evidently he has a lot of money. I doubt this is the reason you're missing out on the high life.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if the "LA based" girlfriend is still the head designer for Girls Gone Wild?
Someone on another board claimed she quit but I haven't heard anyone confirm that.

Anonymous said...

that's insane money for a condo in that market.

Richie, does thou not read the newspaper? You shouldve lowballed this one big time.

Anonymous said...

anon 5:39,

Put lipstick on Average Joe and you have Debbie Downer. Just another one of his/her aliases.

Anonymous said...

The only issue with Philly is NO GUN laws. A lot of Tom, Dick and Harry's have weapons. Not a big issue, but the town is also known for crack and gangs; these don't mix well with guns.

Anonymous said...

Low ball? 3.5 Mil is low ball for him. If John can get a 20+ MIL NYC pad - little Richie here can blindly drop list without batting a eye.

Anonymous said...

Mama, good work! I'll take the kitchen!

Unknown said...

He is part owner of the AFL Champion Philadelphia Soul...I'm sure that plays at least a little part.

Anonymous said...

I don't think you can say Philly is so violent because of no gun laws. DC has some of the most strict gun laws in the country and it is also one of the most violent.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the Developer cut him a super sweetheart SECRET deal to help market the rest of the condos? Sign up a "C" Lister, PR the hell out of it, and try to sell the rest? Maybe Sambora didnt actually pay that price and there's some refund shenanigans going on? Sounds fishy to me when the Developer puts out a Press Release.

Anonymous said...

I think the girlfriend is Jen Mallini and from what has been said, she is no longer associated with GGW, and works on her own as a celebrity stylist.

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