Welcome to AD Pro’s biweekly real estate roundup, covering the biggest deals, most important announcements, and notable listings.
This week, Stan Lee’s daughter lists the comic book writer’s final home in the Hollywood Hills, the Novogratzs’ own Manhattan town house is listed for $22.85 million, and a mass timber building breaks ground in Austin. In this roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.
Notable Listings
For $22.85 million, the Novogratzs’ own Manhattan town house
When Robert and Cortney Novogratz moved their family into this Greenwich Village town house, it already had quite the reputation for itself. The landmarked building was known as “the pink house” for its distinctive exterior paint job and had been owned by the same eccentric woman for decades: Per the New York Post, the owner Celeste Martin, a former Rockette, would perch in front of her window to wave at Pride Day parade attendees well into her 90s. When she passed away, the Novogratzs picked up the home and put their own spin on it. Now, five years later, the property’s back on the market for $22.85 million.
Shortly following their purchase, the family’s plans for the town house were featured on AD. At the time it was in a state of disrepair, but the design couple had a clear vision for its future inspired by the bold colors of its past. “I would say of all the houses we’ve done, it probably has the best bones,” Robert told AD in 2019. “The bones at the other places we’ve done didn't have anywhere near the potential to bring back.” That vision is now material. No longer pink, the 7,000-square-foot building is a contemporary butter yellow hue on the outside. Inside, the formerly compressed spaces are now airy—and color punctuates the rooms rather than completely dominating them. There are five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, plus a number of distinct living spaces. A backyard and a rooftop lounge combine for a truly enviable amount of outdoor space by Manhattan standards.
Christopher Riccio and Elana Zinoman of Douglas Elliman hold the listing.
Stan Lee’s final Hollywood Hills home asks $8.8 million
Stan Lee changed the face of American entertainment with his work at Marvel Comics, cocreating a range of superheroes, including Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men, among many others. Lee passed away in 2018, leaving Marvel fans everywhere in mourning. He left his final home, a Hollywood Hills property, to his daughter J.C. Lee, per the New York Post. Ten years after Stan purchased it in 2014, J.C. has now listed the home for $8.8 million.
The 5,200-square-foot home contains three bedrooms and seven bathrooms, with ample square footage devoted to entertainment spaces. A den with a built-in bar and fireplace leads to the living room and a large dining room, creating a continuous area for relaxation. Similarly, the kitchen is a lounge space in its own right, with a massive central island ideal for congregation. A 10-seat home theater stands at the ready for watch parties. For quiet nights in, the primary bedroom is a comfortable retreat with balconies overlooking the backyard pool, two massive walk-in closets, and a sauna.
The listing is held by Naomi Selick of Douglas Elliman.
A 1930s Los Angeles gem asks $1.595 million
Between the 1930s and 1950s, real estate developer-builders Elwain Steinkamp and William T. Richardson were responsible for constructing a number of Spanish Revival homes across South LA. Known for their stained glass windows and L-shaped layouts, they have come to be known as “Steinkamp houses” in LA residential architecture circles. A well-preserved Steinkamp in the neighborhood of Leimert Park has just hit the market for $1.595 million.
The 1937 home includes three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms across 2,761 square feet of living space, in addition to a newer one-bedroom, one-bathroom ADU. Details like the restored stained glass windows in the living room, a claycraft fireplace, and the original refurbished flooring provide the crucial texture of the historic home. However, remodeled bathrooms, all new electrical, and new copper water lines ensure that those elements don’t come at the cost of modern comforts.
Arched doorways connect the various communal spaces, which include the living room, a sunroom, and a central breakfast room that’s painted a moody peach. The primary suite is particularly spacious, and has ample closet room. Built-in cabinetry in the bedroom wing’s hallway adds more storage space. The ADU living room has a wet bar, which can be convenient for a guest or easily accessible to service a backyard gathering.
Benjamin Kahle and Erin Keegan of Historic Real Estate Los Angeles hold the listing.
Milestones
Mixed-use development Sixth&Blanco in Austin breaks ground
Development and investment firm Riverside and MML Hospitality announced that they’ve broken ground on Sixth&Blanco in Austin as of October 8. Located in the city’s Clarksville neighborhood, the mixed-use development will include 10 private residences, a 57-key hotel, retail space, art galleries, and restaurants.
The residence collection will be located on the fourth and fifth floors of the five-story structure and include access to hotel amenities located elsewhere in the 1.6 acre development. The building was designed by the Pritzker Prize–winning Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron using mass timber, which adds a distinctive texture inside and out. A central courtyard and numerous private terraces ensure that residents’s connection with nature goes beyond the project’s choice of materials.
“Buyers [appreciate the] living experience Sixth&Blanco offers: the services and amenities of a home, situated atop some of Austin’s finest culinary and cultural attractions,” Kumara Wilcoxon of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty, the residence collection’s exclusive sales and marketing agent, said in a statement shared with AD PRO. Prices on units start at $10 million.
Sales Launch
In Brooklyn, Tankhouse launches sales on 144 Vanderbilt
With one completed building and two more in the works, the designers at AD100 firm SO-IL and the developers at Tankhouse have proven their commitment to unique development in Brooklyn. Perhaps their most audacious collaboration yet, 144 Vanderbilt’s textured pink exterior commands attention at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and its namesake street in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. Sales recently launched for the 26 condominiums within the 89,847-square-foot property.
“At 144 Vanderbilt, we’re looking to reinvent standards for city living and build a community within a community,” Sam Alison-Mayne, cofounder at Tankhouse, said in a statement shared with AD PRO. “The building’s unconventional design by SO–IL goes beyond its inventive appearance—it’s thoughtfully constructed to allow for unique floor plans, natural light, greenery, and shared outdoor spaces that bring the community to life.” As with 430 Warren and Nine Chapel—Tankhouse and SO–IL’s two other collaborations—144 Vanderbilt will offer residents an abundance of outdoor space with three shared gardens. The building’s other amenities include a courtyard, a fitness center, and a screening room, among other spaces.
Prices start at approximately $1.95 million for a two-bedroom unit. The two- to four-bedroom collection will include penthouse and town house configurations with private entrances. Doug Bowen and Zia O’Hara from Douglas Elliman and Douglas Elliman Development Marketing are handling sales exclusively.
First Look
Naftali Group shares first look at amenity spaces in RAMSA–designed Upper West Side structure
On the heels of its opening sales, Naftali Group is sharing renderings of The Henry’s amenity spaces for the first time. Designed by AD100 firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the Upper West Side new build features a range of indoor and outdoor amenities across its 18 stories, including a rooftop bocce ball court and the first-ever bowling alley designed by the firm for a multifamily project.
Aligning with the oak flooring in each residence, many of the building’s common spaces employ oak millwork. This includes the aforementioned bowling alley—the two-lane space is set to feature a sophisticated neutral palette and upholstered walls. It’s a far from the classic kitschy bowling alley, save for the pair of neon signs. The bocce-ball court is surrounded by trees, plants, and benches for an open, parklike atmosphere on the rooftop. “Designing The Henry’s architecture, interiors, and gardens has made for an exceptionally complete and coherent architectural vision,” Michael Jones, a partner at RAMSA, said in a statement shared with AD PRO. “From outside to inside, The Henry learns from architectural precedent before adapting those lessons to suit contemporary family life.”
The building will include three- to six-bedroom units, with pricing starting at $5.25 million. Compass Development Marketing Group is managing marketing and sales exclusively.
