Best I've Never Needed 40 Million Dollars So Bad

The Richard Meier Perry Street Condos. Before moving to New York I had heard about them, seen them on some TV show talking about how this star architect had completely designed them and all sorts of superstars (Martha Stewart, Calvin Klein, Nicole Kidman, Vincent Gallo [superstar to some], Hugh Jackman rented there, etc. etc.) were buying into them and that these apartments were a big, big deal. And then I saw them for myself for the first time as a New Yorker and simultaneously found them both striking and not terribly impressive. I mean...obviously they're all designy and at night you can make out exotic interiors within some of the apartments (and perpetual construction projects inside others) but overall, more than anything, these buildings just don't seem very big or imposing so it's hard to imagine them being all that awesome.


the two buildings on the left are the Perry Street condos, the one on the right was also designed by Richard Meier and is where Natalie Portman lives. It has a nice looking pool in the basement, you can see it from the outside. The negative things I say about the Perry Street buildings they really don't apply to the much shinier, far less green final building.

Yet that difficulty of imagining the awesomeness changed today when I discovered the listing for am 11,000 sq/f (Eleven thousand square foot. ELEVEN THOUSAND) triplex "mansion" inside the south building. Upon seeing photos of this apartment I instantly knew which one it was because from the street (and in this photo of mine, if you look closely) you can make out a spiral staircase inside an apartment about halfway up the building and from outside you can tell that it's open, that we're dealing with a two-story tall room right there. So often I've wondered about that apartment and now I know about that apartment. Several years back Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy bought three floors in the building and hired Meier to come in and oversee the transforming of these three separate apartments into one super-apartment. He bought it back then (not sure of the year) for $17.5 million and now is selling it for $40 million dollars (which I type here wanting to have some sort of impact on you, but I know that I already revealed the price in the title of this post). And while it does seem grand and awesome, $40 million does seem a little much. Oh, and word is Mr. Joy never moved in. Of course not.

Floor plan:


Photos:









From the listing:

A modernist masterpiece designed to the minutest detail by internationally acclaimed architect Richard Meier. This significant apartment comprises the 8th, 9th and 10th Floors and over 11,000 square feet of living space in 176 Perry Street, one of Richard Meier's minimalist transparent towers overlooking the Hudson River in the historic West Village. One of the most dramatic apartments in Manhattan, it was built to the very highest standards. The 9th floor features an enormous 51' x 26' double height living room overlooking the Hudson. This floor also has a professional gourmet kitchen and 54' x 17' dining room/gallery. On the 10th floor is the 51' x 16' master bedroom, a studio/exercise area, bath, sauna and dressing areas. The 8th floor features a huge recreation room, 3 bedrooms with baths, a music room/guest bedroom with bath, and a library/guest bedroom with bath. Each floor has a terrace and is connected by a swirling staircase - a work of art in its own right. Truly spectacular!

I think it could use some fireplaces and I do hope the white Eames chair is included when you move in.

Can you even imagine all the sliding around in socks to be done in this apartment?