Ultimate Homes: This $85 Million Manhattan Townhouse Is a Gilded-Age Manse for Modern Times
Welcome to Ultimate Homes, a new Robb Report video series in which host Anthony Park guides you through the most striking and luxurious homes on the prime market today. Whether it’s a three-story condo in a New York high-rise or a sprawling oceanside estate on the cliffs of Malibu, we’ll show you every room—and amenity—inside the world’s most coveted addresses.
Searching for the light? It’s all being held captive at a dazzling, eight-story townhouse on New York’s Upper West Side. Over a decade ago, Parisian businessman Pierre Bastid and his jazz-singer wife Malou Beauvoir bought side-by-side townhouses at 48 and 50 West 69th Street. They demolished both Renaissance Revival row houses in 2018 and, to the frustration of some of their neighbors, spent seven years custom-building a single mega-mansion they’ve now got on the market for $85 million.
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Located just off Central Park, the nearly 20,000-square-foot residence is the years-long result of a collaboration between Fradkin & McAlpin Architects and MDesign London. The two firms were tapped for the project that brought the five-bedroom, 11-bathroom digs to fruition alongside multiple outdoor spaces that take entertaining to new heights and depths, literally. A 55-foot indoor lap pool on the home’s garden level affords a high-energy start to the day, while its penthouse lounge with Billionaire’s Row views is the ideal spot for a nightcap.
The double-height living room on the parlor level, spanning 38 feet wide with 24-foot ceilings and dual fireplaces, makes entertaining large groups a breeze. A trio of towing arched windows lead out to a balcony with steps down to a courtyard-style garden; the dining room, part of which is double-height and capped by a skylight, also opens to the balcony. An expansive mezzanine level overlooks the living and dining rooms.
According to The Wall Street Journal, eight months were spent constructing the spiral limestone staircase that looks as if it floats from floor to floor and, due to its combination of lightness and extravagance, doubles as a sculptural masterwork of design. Stunning as they are, don’t feel like taking the stairs? A high speed commercial elevator services all eight floors.
Smooth wooden floors and neutral-hued walls trail upwards, leading to the full-floor primary suite that measures over 2,000 square feet. Dual bathrooms, a private study, two dressing rooms, and a south-facing terrace are featured just off the bedroom, which includes a wood-burning fireplace for keeping cozy. Four more bedrooms are clustered on the fourth floor.
Set beneath a massive skylight, one of the townhome’s most alluring attributes is the light-filled penthouse lounge, which features an oversized wet bar/kitchenette for entertaining. A wall of tall sliding glass doors peels open to a wraparound terrace, where you’ll find south-facing views of the supertall towers that comprise Billionaire’s Row.
Along with the lap-length pool and a leafy terrace, the garden level also has a jacuzzi tub, a pool bath, and a glassed-in gym and yoga space. There’s also a two-room staff suite with a private outside entrance. Floorplans show the lower two levels call for a spa and massage area, a home theater, a wine cellar, and a billiards lounge.
Though it is by far the most expensive townhouse currently available on the open market in all of Manhattan, a full-price sale won’t set a record as the Big Apple’s most expensive single-family home. That benchmark belongs to the Upper East Side townhouse that billionaire businessman Len Blavatnik scooped up in a private 2018 deal valued at $90 million.
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