Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times 45 East 74th StreetAn ugly duckling townhouse that was the beneficiary of an ambitious $10 million neo-Roman makeover to restore its original 1879 panache with a striking facade of imported Italian limestone and a cornice that hides a rooftop soaking pool sold for $26 million and was the most expensive sale of the week, according to city records. The annual taxes on the 20-foot-wide property are $110,000.
A five-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bath home at 45 East 74th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues, it was put on the market a year ago at $33 million. A reduction to $30 million spiked interest from buyers looking for an Upper East Side rarity: a turnkey townhouse with a classic exterior and a thoroughly modern interior. It has an elevator, a sweeping limestone staircase, coffered ceilings, a wine cellar, a lower-level pool and spa with Bisazza mosaic tile, and three wood-burning fireplaces. The roof deck and terraces have Brazilian ipe floors.
Valerio Morabito, an Italian developer/film producer/art collector, paid around $10 million in 2009 for the distressed townhouse â€" it had been stripped of its original architectural detail, brick-faced, and converted to a multiunit dwelling â€" and hired the architect Joseph Pell Lombardi to embark on a full-scale reclamation to restore its dignity and install a panoply of sophisticated finishes.
Mr. Morabito, identified by the limited-liability company Antarctica, was represented by Brett Miles and Jason Karadus of Town Residential. The buyer, Zhang Xin, who used Galaxy Silver Limited 74th Street in city records, is the chief executive of SOHO China, one of that country’s largest commercial development firms. Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens, the buyer’s broker, declined to comment on the sale.
According to Mr. Miles, some potential buyers were deterred by the minimal servant space (one bedroom) and the position of the kitchen on the garden level. “It took the right buyer, where the size and layout worked as is,†he said.
Big Ticket includes closed sales from the previous week, ending Wednesday.
