A historic Upper East Side carriage house where artist Mark Rothko created masterpieces and legendary crooner Elvis Presley recorded music is back on the market for $9.5 million, according to the New York Post. The unique property at 155 E. 69th St. in Lenox Hill comes with an unusual twist: the buyer will have to sell in 12 years.
The Big Picture: The 1884 Gilded Age carriage house represents a slice of Upper East Side history, originally built for wealthy financier James Stillman as part of a “stable row” between Lexington and Third avenues where Manhattan’s elite kept their horses and carriages, the New York Post reports.
Why It Matters: The property’s cultural significance spans art and music history. Rothko worked in the space, sometimes covering the skylight with a parachute to create different lighting effects, and created art here for the famed Rothko Chapel in Houston, per the New York Post. In the 1950s, when divided into music studios, Elvis Presley re-recorded the end of the soundtrack for his first film “Love Me Tender” here, with scenes of him signing autographs outside and getting mobbed by fans.
The Price Tag: While asking $9.5 million now, the entire building is estimated to be worth around $24 million, according to listing broker Jeremy Stein of Sotheby’s International Realty. The catch: a Japanese company owns the other half and operates the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society, a non-profit promoting the “Way of Tea” through lectures, demonstrations and classes.
What They’re Saying: “At the moment, the Japanese company doesn’t want to sell but they will have to in 12 years and the [$9.5 million] property will be worth a lot more at that time,” said Stein, per The Post.
What’s Next: Both owners agreed when purchasing to sell the building 50 years later if both parties didn’t want to keep it, notes Stein. That deadline arrives in 12 years, potentially creating significant profit for whoever buys the duplex now.
