Hotelier Andre Balazs lists his flashy Soho condo for $12M
Photo Credit: Douglas Elliman
Hotelier Andre Balazs, best known for LA’s Chateau Marmont, the Mercer Hotel in NYC, and the string of trendy Standard Hotels, unsurprisingly lives a life as lavish as the destination he creates. His personal condo in Soho, taking up the entire top floor at 158 Mercer Street, is no exception. Balazs added plenty of his own panache to the 4,200-square-foot loft, including massive stretches of built-in bookshelves, a custom “wall of light,” and a 13th-century Florentine fresco. He also added hotel-quality rooms like a nearly 275-square-foot closet, a personal gym, and a steam room. As the Wall Street Journal first reported, Balazs has decided to list the home for $12 million as he spends much of his time now in Europe.
A key-locked elevator opens directly into the apartment’s foyer, off which are two large closets, a powder room, and a laundry room. From there, a gallery hallway leads to the massive great room, punctuated by custom ceilings and architectural columns. The main living space features a wood-burning fireplace that’s encased in black Venetian plaster.
Adjacent to this living space is the first of two raised lounge areas that boast custom bookshelves under their platforms.
Low bookshelves line almost the entire west-facing wall under the oversized windows.
The second elevated lounge area is a more formal den, flanked by a wall of mirrors and with south-facing views stretching down the World Trade Center.
The kitchen, too, is hotel-quality, with Viking appliances, including a six-burner industrial range with a grill top and an exterior vented hood. There’s also a fireclay farmhouse sink, white glossy cabinets, and marble counters with a bookmatched marble backsplash.
Back down the gallery hallway are two bedrooms and a full bathroom.
The entire eastern end of the apartment is configured as a huge master suite. The bedroom has amazing southern views, along with a walk-in closet and a romantic en-suite bathroom that’s been filled with climbing plants.
The adjacent, custom-designed dressing room is the size of some small studio apartments. The glass and wood cabinets extend from floor to ceiling.
Off the dressing room is the spa-like steam room with a custom marble bench and vanity.
On the other side of the steam room, what would have been the home’s fourth bedroom was turned into a home gym.
Balazs did admit to the Wall Street Journal that it’s “not the optimum time to sell,” but he also noted that it doesn’t make sense for him to hold onto the home when he spends so much of his time now in Europe and can just as easily stay at his nearby Mercer Hotel when he’s in the city. He also has homes in Dutchess County and on Shelter Island.
Balazs bought the condo in 2003 for $5.75 million and then spent between $3 and $5 million renovating it more than once, according to the Journal. The Post reports that he first tried to sell the home in 2007 for $10 and then again in 2017 for $12 million.
[Listing details: 158 Mercer Street, 10M at CityRealty]
[At Douglas Elliman by Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander]
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Photo Credit: Douglas Elliman
