Buy Rihanna’s Chinatown penthouse for $17M
Rihanna began renting this duplex penthouse at 129 Lafayette Street back in 2013 for $39,000 a month. Since then, the rent has climbed to $50,000, which could be why it’s now hit the sales market for $16.95 million (h/t NYP). The sprawling home, located on the border of Chinatown, Little Italy, and Soho, has a massive 2,500-square-foot wrap-around terrace with Empire State Building views, a steel-and-wood floating staircase, custom concrete flooring, and an open layout perfect for hosting soirees.
The penthouse occupies the building’s top two floors and boasts oversized windows, 13-foot ceilings, and a wood-burning fireplace. Off the high-end kitchen is a media alcove complete with a dry bar and powder room.
There are four bedrooms on the lower level, one of which could easily function as a home office. The master has a dressing room and walk-in closet and en-suite bath with a frameless glass-enclosed double shower and six-foot soaking tub.
The owner of the unit is celebrity fashion photographer Antoine Verglas, whose clients have included Melania Trump, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford. He bought the apartment in 2005 for $6.1 million, first listing it in 2009 with the price fluctuating between $18.75 and $9.65 million. He now lives in Clinton Hill and has a West Village studio, along with homes in St. Barts, Miami, and the Hamptons, so it’s no surprise he’s looking to lighten his real estate load.
As for Rihanna, if she decides to keep a place in NYC, we’d be surprised if she left the ‘hood; previously, she rented an $18,000/month spread at Soho’s Mercer Greene.
[Via NYP]
[Listing: 129 Lafayette Street, PHA by Dana Power of TOWN Residential]
[At CityRealty]
Photos courtesy of TOWN
