It looks Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is expanding his Upper East Side megamansion-to-be—assuming the Landmarks Preservation Commission gives revised plans the A-OK.
The New York Post reports that Abramovich has purchased the townhouse at 9 East 75th Street, adjoining three other townhouses that he owns at 11, 13, and 15 East 75th Street. Abramovich has been working with architect Stephen Wang (and the firm Herzog & de Meuron) to transform those three homes into one 18,000-square-foot Frankenhome. A rep for Wang told the Post that the latest townhouse “will look better and bring a more balanced facade to the street—it will have more symmetry.” (It will also be freaking huge.)
[UPDATE: A rep for Stephen Wang’s office confirms to Curbed that 15 East 75th Street is no longer part of the megamansion plan, and is being swapped out for no. 9. It’s this combination of nos. 9, 11, and 13 that will “look better and bring a more balanced facade to the street.” Curbed regrets the error.]
But a sale has yet to be recorded for No. 9—as it stands, its current owner is still Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding, through the not-so-creatively named 9 East 75th Street LLC. Abramovich bought the other three townhouses through an LLC, DR East 75, for a total of $94 million.
Per city records, the 25-foot wide townhouse spans 13,176 square feet (about 11,000 of that is categorized as residential), and was at one point divided into 18 different apartments—some of which were rented out as recently as last year.
Revised plans for Abramovich’s megamansion are due to go before the LPC on November 14, with the following new elements: “redesign the façade of 9 East 75th Street, modify masonry openings at 11 East 75th Street; and to alter the areaways and rear facades, remove party walls, construct rooftop additions, excavate the cellars and yards, and create green walls in the rear yards.”
The plans the LPC approved in 2016 call for restoring the facades of Nos. 11-15, keeping some of their original elements intact, and unifying the rear facade with a glass and bronze curtain wall. Per floorplans included with that presentation, the gigantic home’s over-the-top features will include a central atrium that will culminate in a courtyard on the second floor, a dual-height "art room," a pool that nearly spans the width of the three townhouses, a rooftop kitchen enclosed in a greenhouse, and a bidet in every full bathroom.
But given the trouble Abramovich had getting those plans approved—the LPC rejected his initial proposal, as did the Department of Buildings—it’s unlikely that this new addition will get the green light without some kind of fight. Stay tuned.
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