After 20 years of hosting countless parties and their celebrity friends, Tina Brown and Sir Harold Evans, the famous media power couple, finally sold their residence in Manhattan. Located in the heart of Sutton Place, 447 East 57th Street was built in 1923 by Rosario Candela, the Sicilian American architect behind some of the most desirable apartment buildings. The building has 16 stories and features 23 units, each with its unique style. What makes 447 East 57th Street even more special is the maisonette, a triplex townhouse with five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms.
Looking at the photos, it is not hard to imagine why people call this co-op unit a “maisonette” – it is a true beauty inside out. The maisonette comes with a 19’x64’ private garden, a sunroom, an office on the third floor, a master bedroom with a balcony, a library, and an enormous living room as the centerpiece. What’s even better about this apartment is that it has a private entrance, offering literary lions, the couple and their guests alike, the privacy they desired.
In case you are curious about the history of this stunning co-op unit, the couple bought this unit around 20 years ago for $3.8 million, according to the Real Deal. In 2016, the unit was listed by the couple’s broker, Kathy Sloane from Brown Harris Stevens, carrying a list price of $9.75 million. By May 2017, one year after the unit was listed, the figure dropped to $7.9 million, 19% lower than the initial list price. The co-op eventually was sold for $6,650,000 last month to the Chilean billionaire Alvaro Saieh Bendeck, in an off-market deal.
If you are wondering why the Sutton Place triplex apartment was sold so much below the initial list price, well, you are not the only one. While it is hard to say exactly why, it is very likely that the property was overpriced. The maisonette is, with no doubt, a rare and gorgeous piece of art in Sutton Place. The asking price, however, is almost doubled the average asking price of five-bedroom co-op apartments in Sutton Place. The only unit that well matches the maisonette is 4 Sutton Place, another high-end co-op building designed by Rosario Candela.
Other Notable Sales in the Media World
The former Today Show anchor, Katie Couric, sold her five-bedroom co-op located at 1155 Park Avenue, where she had resided for more than 10 years. Some of the most attractive features of this unit include oversized windows facing Park Avenue and a large eat-in kitchen. Each bedroom also has ample living space, providing comfort and ease. The unit was listed by Stribling & Associates on October 13, 2017, asking $8.25 million. On June 13, 2018, after being on the market for eight months, the unit was sold for $7,785,000, 5.64% lower than the initial asking price.
Coincidentally, the current co-host of the Today Show Savannah Guthrie and her husband Michael Feldmanalso sold their beautiful loft at 77 Reade Street back in June. Feldman bought the three-bedroom, four-bathroom unit back in July 2012 for $3.8 million, two years before marrying Guthrie. In June 2017, the couple decided to sell this 2,691 square feet Tribeca loft. The unit was listed by Sotheby’s International Realty with a list price of $5,995,000. A year after being on the market, the loft was finally sold for $5.4 million, not far from its original asking price.
