Benjamin Norman for The New York Times Superior Ink, built on the site of a 1919 factory, suffered damage to its mechanical systems caused by an influx of saltwater from Hurricane Sandy.A glass aerie with 10-foot ceilings, ebony floors and sweeping views of the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty and the George Washington Bridge from its 14th-story perch on the southwest corner of the Superior Ink building sold for $9.495 million and was the most expensive sale of the week, according to city records.
The six-room condominium, No. 14B, had previously been shopped as a possible combination with the two other apartments on the floor but sold solo for its most recent full asking price.
The monthly carrying charges on the 2,169-square-foot unit are a relatively manageable $2,829, thanks to an extended tax abatement at the 17-story tower, which was designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects. Built on the site of a 1919 factory at 400 West 12th Street, the building has a prime riverfront locale that proved treacherous during the hyperactive hurricane season last year.
The well-heeled residents of Superior Ink â€" including the fashion designer Marc Jacobs and the actress Hilary Swank â€" preferring not to be displaced indefinitely while waiting for insurance reimbursements, last year ponied up a $1 million assessment to quickly remediate damage to the building’s mechanical systems caused by an influx of saltwater from Hurricane Sandy. Mr. Jacobs, who had bought one of the townhouse units, was sufficiently miffed by the inconvenience that he indicated he might move, and Leslie Alexander, the owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team, who in 2010 paid a then-record $31.5 million for the penthouse, did switch addresses to a more landlocked location, the $42 million penthouse at 18 Gramercy Park South, another of Robert A. M. Stern’s trophy creations.
No. 14B, which has three bedrooms and three and a half baths, and its neighboring units, Nos. 14A and 14C, were all owned by one seller, who bought them as sponsor units but never actually combined them. The three units found buyers in late summer, each for its most recent asking price, and all three sales were handled by Leslie Wilson, a senior vice president of Related Sales. No. 14C, one of the largest apartments in the building at 3,234 square feet, was the first to sell, at $14.25 million.
Nos. 14B and 14A, which were recorded as closed sales on the same day, with the same lawyer representing the buyer of both units, are presumably destined for combination. The publicity-shy seller used a limited-liability company, Super View, for the No. 14B transaction, and Stellar Vistas for the No. 14A sale, which closed for its $7.5 million asking price. The anonymous buyer also used limited-liability-company identities for the acquisitions, Warner for 14B and VDF for 14A, a three-bedroom, three-bath unit with 2,284 square feet of space and city views but the same loftlike ambience as 14B.
The week’s second-priciest sale, at $8 million after a bidding war that spiked its original asking price of $7.5 million, was a 1901 town house at 431 East 52nd Street with a unique provenance and layout as well as partial East River views. The town house, owned for decades by Alexander M. Lewyt, a vacuum cleaner inventor who also played a role in introducing the male populace to the joys of clip-on bow ties, and his wife, Elisabeth, a philanthropist and an avid collector of Impressionist art, had not been on the market for more than 60 years. The Lewyts, who were childless dog-lovers with a $65 million art collection, used the town house as a grand urban pied-à -terre to display their art (auctioned by Sotheby’s in May) and to entertain. They also owned an estate in Sands Point, on Long Island, where Mrs. Lewyt, widowed in 1988, died last December at age 99 with er canine companions at her side.
The town house, renovated to the couple’s specifications, has 12 rooms arranged on five floors: the kitchen and staff quarters are on the lowest; the foyer, powder room and dining room are on the first level; and an elaborate salon/living room with a marble fireplace occupies the parlor level. The entire third story is devoted to the master suite; a pine-paneled library with fireplace dominates the fourth story; and the top floor has a roof terrace and a guest suite.
Meredyth Hull Smith of Sotheby’s International Realty represented the coexecutors of the estate, the lawyer Thomas R. Amlicke and Mrs. Lewyt’s former personal assistant, Wendy S. McColgan, as well as the international buyer, who used a limited-liability company, White Peacock, to protect his identity.
Big Ticket includes closed sales from the previous week, ending Wednesday.
