$40M Penthouse Occupies the Clock Tower Dome of Nolita’s Famed Police Building

Who doesn’t love to take a look inside the Police Building, the 1909 Beaux Arts NYPD headquarters converted to condos in 1988? Back then, residents were sure to maintain the building’s fantastic architecture and created varied floor plans with soaring ceilings and open layouts. Today, it’s known for its uber-unique apartments. This is the building that brought us the wood-paneled, domed master bedroom and this funky loft with 18-foot ceilings.

And now, take a peek inside the 6,000-square-foot penthouse apartment that occupies the building’s clock tower dome. This was once the home of Calvin Klein and Steffi Graf, but the current owners pulled off quite an impressive renovation—one that uncovered a secret room. The grand renovation comes with an even grander asking price, a whopping $39.9 million (h/t Curbed). And as you would expect, it is as drool-worthy as can be.

Although the listing offers few photos of the space (bummer!), we do know some things: on top of the 6,000 interior square feet, there are 1,500 more square feet outside. There are four bedrooms and five bathrooms. On two of the four floors, ceilings reach a staggering 22 feet. There’s also a private interior elevator to get you from floor to floor. And from the patio, you get 360-degree views of Manhattan, which include the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building.

The owners took on the designer Michael Bagley to re-imagine this crazy pad—according to this New York Cottages and Gardens article, he was inspired by French 1930s and ’40s architecture and furnishings.

The article also divulges one of the craziest New York renovation stories ever: “Originally the penthouse measured 3,000 square feet, spread out over three floors. But with the discovery 
of an extra room above the dome and the purchase of an adjoining apartment, the home grew to a massive 6,000 square feet… Dubbed the clock tower room, the newly annexed 40-foot-wide 
circular space had not been used for more than a century and was previously accessible only to clock mechanics, who periodically showed up to make sure that the massive ticker was keeping accurate time.”

The clock still works, and that 40-foot-wide space is now the penthouse living room. Did we mention we love the apartments of the Police Building?

[Via Curbed]

[Listing: 240 Centre Street, #PH by Lisa Calka for L.G. Calka]

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• Beatrice Trussardi Buys Appropriately Fashionable Police Building Pad for $2 Million

Photos courtesy of L.G. Calka