Billionaires’ row is not where you think it is.
For years, a growing number of rich and famous names have been quietly trading Park Avenue co-ops and 57th Street skypads for wide spreads in the always-chic West Village.
Last year, the pandemic spurred sales in the “historic hood”, as billionaires sought seclusion in self-contained homes.
Now, the race for glittering downtown real estate has reached its climax with the massive expansion of compact homes.
Who doesn’t have one?
Tech billionaire Sean Parker does just that.
He was one of the first to follow this trend when he signed the green light for Landmarks to combine three detached homes – at 26, 38 and 40 W Streets – in 2017. The homes themselves cost $58.5 million, but “it’s in them for over $100 million.” dollars, a source said.
That same year, the city began issuing building permits for homes at 273 and 275 West 11th Street.
These stone-fronted beauties are owned by Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.
They paid the pair $34.5 million in 2016 and the massive construction project that followed turned the beautiful block into a disaster zone for their neighbors.
But more height is rising.
Currently Zillionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen is building a castle in the neighborhood: a 30,000-square-foot, four-story “house” with basement, landscaped deck, curved staircase, fireplaces, elevator and back garden.
To achieve this, he bought 145 Perry Street, on the corner of Washington, for $28.8 million in 2012. He also bought 703 Washington Street for $38.8 million in the same year. When incorporated into the new address 703-711 Washington Street, it will be the most luxurious new mansion in the neighborhood.
Milestones also gave birth to this flagship project in 2017.
“We’ve backed off. Hopefully, this isn’t the future,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village History Preservation Society.
But the Shangri-La Hotel wasn’t built in a day. Even billionaires have to wait.
Chipotle founder Steve Ells cut $30 million to buy a crash pillow home at 27 E. 11th St. While he awaits completion of his huge, long-delayed complex four blocks away, as The Post exclusively reported last week.
Baron Burrito bought corner homes on 11th and 4th Streets for $32.5 million in 2014 and 2015 and got started. But it is still not ready thanks to the torrential rains that destroyed the structure.
“The wealthy have problems,” a source said. “It’s a big deal, because he just sold his loft thinking he’s going to move in soon.”
Ells bought his temporary digs on East 11th Street from Josh Fink, son of billionaire BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
He also lives in the neighborhood at E. 10th St. , The Post can now report exclusively. In 2015, he was the secret buyer of a $32 million home he had under contract with Parker & Broderick.
The house is 25 feet wide and contains 8,500 square feet with 11 marble fireplaces and a garden.
“Larry paid dearly for it. Then he removed it and put millions more in it. He is likely to get $50 million plus the purchase price at this point,” a source said.
Over 44 and 46 Horatio Streets, there’s another huge expansion taking shape. This time hotel owner Sean Macpherson — known for the Bowery, Jane, Maritime, Ludlow and Chelsea hotels — is behind the project, which began with an investment of $6.25 million and $8.75 million for the two homes in 2015.
“You see double amplitude and people investigate in a triple view,” said Christopher Riccio of Douglas Elleman. “It doesn’t always pay off, but I’ve seen people buy one house and then houses on both sides. It’s becoming more prevalent here.”
The best restaurants are one draw. The arts and cultural scene is something else.
“Billionaires are the beneficiaries of [nearby] art galleries,” added Riccio.
Other wealthy West Village residents who joined the circus were Softbank CEO Marcelo Clor — who bought a $28 million cottage at 269 W 11 Street (next to SJP and Broderick) in 2017 — and Resy founder Ben Leventhal, who bought Liv Tyler’s A gorgeous 19th-century country house she spent years restoring, at 255 W. 11th St. , for $17.45 million in 2019. (Tyler bought it for $2.53 million in 2001).
There’s also a billionaire biotech hedge fund Felix Becker, who bought 27 Christophers for $45 million in 2014, I mentioned page six. The building once housed the children’s charity New York Foundling, which Baker turned into a one-family mansion, a 15,000-square-foot, six-bedroom, elevator, 50-foot pool and 4,000 square feet of outdoor space. The construction was only recently completed and sources say it is also in it for about $100 million.
But of course, local multimillionaires dismiss the ball of these billionaires, who turn their quiet neighborhood into a status symbol akin to Belgravia or Beverly Hills.
The TV home’s interior designer, Robert Novogratz, told The Post that blockbusters “definitely take away from the charm of West Village.” But that doesn’t stop him from getting into the city house that fuels madness.
Novogratz and his wife Courtney are currently renovating the famous pink house at 114 Waverly Place, which they bought in 2019 for $8.5 million.
“We hope we live in it before we sell it, but the market is so hot, you never know,” Novogratz said, adding that the luxury townhouses love it because they want to use the luxury amenities without the indignity of having to swim or take the lift with “Mr. Jones of year 20 b.”
Another reason why the West Village is suddenly so hot?
“It’s the only place left in town where you can still see the sky,” said brokerage Jenny Lenz, who sold 27 Christopher Street St.
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