LOCATION: New York City, NY
PRICE: $15,000,000
SIZE: 6,900 square feet, 6 full and 2 half bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Today we've opted for reasons well not explain to ride the coat tails of New York Post who appear to be the first to report that celebrity chef and culinary mini-tycoon Emeril Lagasse has flipped his nicely dressed limestone-clad New York City townhouse on the market with an asking price of $15,000,000.
Just because Your Mama ain't never eaten in one of Mister Lagasse's eateries, made use of one of his numerous cookbooks, watched a single one of his television programs or purchased any of the many products he endorses does not mean he isn't a very big fish in the culinary world. In addition to the dozen-plus restaurants he owns and executive chefs, the James Beard Award-winning thrice-married father of four, known for his Cajun and Creole spiced dishes, is a prolific cookbook author, television personality and, probably most lucratively, an eager endorser of a slew of products that range from dry goods (pasta sauces and etc.), to fresh produce, kitchen knives, cookware and electrical appliances. In 2008, the multi-tasking foodie sold the rights to all his various Emeril branded and licensed products (but not his restaurants) in a $50,000,000 deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a deal that sorta makes him, with all due respect, one of Martha Stewart's bitches. BAM!
Interestingly and although he paid a pretty penny to own a mansion-sized townhouse in Manhattan, as far as Your Mama knows Mister Lagasse does not own a restaurant in New York City instead opting to plant his mostly eponymous professional feet in places like New Orleans, Orlando, Las Vegas and Bethlehem, PA.
Some of the children who have long paid rapt attention to the New York City celebrity real estate scene may recall it was only just over two years ago that the puissant hash slinger purchased the fairly recently renovated six-story (plus basement) residence that had a long and arduous listing history. The fine folks at StreetEasy reveal the approximately 18-foot wide townhouse had been on the market since August of 2006 when it showed up with as asking price of $11,250,000, a figure that over the first couple of years, as the soup-to-nuts renovation progressed, climbed to $14,995,000. After a year at that number, the price tag plummeted to $12,995,000 and three weeks after that it dropped dramatically again to $11,500,000. Mister Lagasse soon moseyed along and paid the full asking price.
A quick and entirely unscientific comparison of current listing photos with listing photos from the time of his acquisition indicate Mister Legasse hasn't made many (if any) significant alterations to the the townhouse so we're not quite sure what warrants the $3,500,000 increase in price/value but we'll let all y'all New York City property experts duke that one out in the comments iffin you so chose.
The symmetrical Georgian style townhouse, originally erected in 1910, has an all-new Indiana limestone front facade that towers over a small planted garden that separates the busy city street from the front door that opens into a windowed entry vestibule with dual coat closets. The intimate vestibule opens into a grand, marble floored foyer with heated limestone floor and antique marble fireplace.
At the rear of the residence on the street/entry level a full-width eat-in kitchen has a radiant heated floor that makes Your Mama's cold-blooded house gurl Svetlana ache with envy, walls lined with custom walnut cabinetry, a Chevy-sized Carrara marble-topped center island lit by a glitzy chandelier, two side-by-side Sub-Zero fridge/freezers, commerical-grade range with double over, a 150-bottle wine fridge, walk-in pantry, and a wide bank of open and glass-fronted shelves for displaying cook books and other culinary knick-knacks and gew-gaws.
The kitchen is open to and steps down to an informal dining room with herringbone patterned oak floors, a built-in banquette opposite a marble-columned built-in entertainment center, and a wall of windows and French doors that open out to a fully landscaped formal garden with outdoor dining table.
The fully-finished basement level, accessible only by stair and not by elevator, contains a playroom/gym, full bathroom, laundry room with sink, multiple utility and mechanical closets and a wood-paneled temperature controlled wine cellar that even the fussiest sommelier swoon with oenophilic aphrodisia.
The parlor floor, one floor up from the street/entry level, has regal 14-foot ceilings and a discreet wet bar with built-in ice maker tucked off the center all where it's easily accessible from the both the formal dining and living room. In the north facing dining room, located so far from the kitchen a hot meal could easily go luke warm in transit, there's an antique marble fireplace, a trio of windows with street view, luscious herringbone patterned oak flooring, a brassy-looking crystal chandelier huge far too high–it should be no more than 36" from the top of the table–and a beautifully articulated ceiling with wide moldings and quatrefoil detailing that we can only hope was rendered in plaster. The rich-looking herringbone patterned hardwood floors extend into the sizable but not baronial south facing formal living room that features yet another antique marble fireplace plus a wall of windows and French doors that open to a narrow terrace that overlooks the backyard.
The full-floor master suite encompasses a sunny south facing bedroom with fireplace and French doors to deep private terrace, two walk-in closets plus a custom-fitted dressing room, and a bedroom-sized bathroom with yummy heated floor, Carrara marble accents, a free-stranding Agape soaking tub, separate step-in steam shower, double sinks, and an enclosed terlit cubicle with window for p.p.p. That is, as so-labeled by one of the children, proper pooper placement.
Each of the two floors directly above the master suite encompass two bedrooms with private facilities. One floor has a convenient kitchenette for the two a.m. candy and hooch runs and the other has a second laundry room–the other is in the basement if y'all recall–that even the most hardcore and/or athletic of housekeepers can appreciate.
A barrel-vaulted sky light runs the length of the penthouse level comprised of a full kitchen (with dishwasher), half bathroom, and a sun-splashed multi-functional room–it could be a home office, media room/den, Pilates or quilting studio–that opens through a wide wall of French doors to a definitely considerable but far from capacious roof terrace.
Because the townhouse mansion was recently and completely renovated the old-school finishes hide a new-fangled under carriage that includes all new mechanical systems and high-tech luxuries such as home automation, integrated security, six-zone heating and cooling, water filtration, and sprinklers.
The New York Post reported the the rather rotund Mister Lagasse, who has two young children with his third and (as far as we know) current wife, wants to relocate to a smaller residence in the city.
In addition to the purchase and subsequent recent listing of the Manhattan townhouse, Mister Lagasse has a couple other recent real estate transactions under his belt. In May 2010, not long after he acquired the townhouse he no longer wants, Mister Lagasse sold a substantial apartment at the Beekman Regent Condominium complex at 351 East 51st Street. The 4,022 square foot loft-like 2-unit combination condo encompasses 4-5 bedrooms, 4 full and 2 half bathrooms, an open plan living/dining/kitchen area, a second kitchen. He first heaved the apartment on the market in mid-February 2009 at $7,650,000. By March 2010 the price had been chopped half a dozen times to $4,850,000 and finally in May (2010) the apartment was sold for for $4,600,000
listing photos (New York): Gumley Haft Kleier
listing photos (New Orleans): Talbot Realty Group
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