Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times The Aldyn has four duplex units.A sprawling seven-bedroom, nine-and-a-half-bath duplex with a 3,800-square-foot terrace including a private outdoor swimming pool at the Aldyn, at 60 Riverside Boulevard near 63rd Street, sold for $14,711,621.25 and was the most expensive sale of the week, city records show.
The nearly 6,000-square-foot interior space is one of four duplex apartments with double-height living rooms and large terraces built on a setback at the Aldyn, Extell Development’s glassy 40-story luxury condominium on the Upper West Side. The apartment, No. 2102, listed for $16.9 million, was the pricier of two with private 15-by-37-foot outdoor pools and expansive Hudson River and city views that were unabashedly marketed in the name of charity. They were transformed into designer fantasy spaces last year for the 40th anniversary of the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which raises money for the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club.
“It raised a lot of awareness in the marketplace and certainly in the brokerage community of these residences, which are sort of fun and unexpected,†said Beth Fisher, a senior managing director of the Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, which represented the building. “Who expects to find a residence of nearly 6,000 square feet with a private pool in Manhattan?â€
But with this particular unit, the show house “almost killed the deal,†said Kristen Magnani of Rutenberg Realty, who represented the buyers, listed as Joseph and Maria Lucania in city records. Though the apartment met her clients’ demands for a spacious urban abode with amazing views and outdoor space that rivaled their big suburban backyard, Ms. Magnani said, the show imposed the wildly different styles of the various designers, creating “an absolute distraction.â€
“It’s a hodgepodge of everything,†she said, recalling red zebra wallpaper, an assortment of Venetian glazes on the walls, “and every conceivable color you can imagine,†throughout the apartment. Afterward, she added, “they were like, ‘We don’t see ourselves living here.’â€
It wasn’t until the fancy furnishings were removed, the wallpaper and other designer imprints stripped out, and their own interior designer helped them conceptualize the space, that they began to envision themselves there, Ms. Magnani said. In the end, it was a combination of the unique space, the impressive views, and the many building amenities that sealed the deal. (The Aldyn has a full-size basketball court, a two-lane bowling alley, a golf simulator, a gym and a rock-climbing wall.)
Big Ticket includes closed sales from the previous week, ending Wednesday.
