Sale of $79.5M Upper East Side mansion sets new record for Manhattan’s most expensive townhouse

Image via Google Street View

6sqft reported in November that the 25,000-square-foot, 41-foot-wide townhouse at 19 East 64th Street belonging to art heir David Wildenstein had gone into contract for $81 million. The sale has closed for $79.5 million–$3,180 a foot–according to public records, setting a new record for Manhattan’s priciest townhouse sale; the previous record was held by the Harkness mansion at 4 East 75th Street, which sold for $53 million in 2006. According to The Real Deal, the buyer, listed as 19-21 East 64th Holding LLC, is affiliated with HNA Holdings Group CEO Roy Liao. HNA Holdings Group is also behind the $2.2 billion deal to purchase 245 Park Avenue. The 1930s townhouse is the former home of the Wildenstein gallery.

The road to the sale has been long and fraught with drama. In 2014 the Wildenstein family was in–then out–of negotiations for the sale with Quatar, who had wanted to buy the home for $90 million and use it as their consulate and an art gallery. The property made headlines again last year whe owner David Wildenstein was sued by billionaire Len Blavatnik, owner of Warner Music, investor in “Hamilton,” and owner of the city’s current most-expensive co-op, who claimed that he “shook hands” on a deal to buy the townhouse for $79 million, after which Wildenstein reneged in an attempt to get a higher price.

The home, a Gilded Age limestone beauty designed by Horace Trumbauer in 1932, is a block from Central Park and has 20-foot ceilings, a paneled elevator, a dramatic staircase, and a third-floor salon that was imported from “the 18th-century home of a Parisian prince.” It should be noted that technically the residence is a commercial property, as it’s been serving as an art gallery. The seller of the property was represented by Carrie Chiang of the Corcoran Group.

[Via TRD]

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