Tribeca’s Sky Lofts penthouse returns, now wants $45M

The gleaming, glass-enclosed penthouse at Tribeca’s Sky Lofts caused quite a commotion when it sold for $30.5 million back in 2009—a price that, at the time, made it the most expensive sale ever in Manhattan below Columbus Circle. (Ah, how times have changed.) And after several unsuccessful tries to sell it over the past six years, the palatial spread is back on the market, with a price tag that’s quite familiar: it’s asking $45 million, the same price it was listed for back in 2011.

The seller, private investor William Duker, never actually lived in the place; he bought it as an investment property, and quite possibly as a storage space for his much-lauded art collection. (All of that glass is “UV coated high-performance, museum-quality insulated,” which also helps with the whole being-next-to-the-Holland-Tunnel thing.) But he hasn’t had much luck: the price has gone up, then down, then up again, and now down again. (Duker is also trying his luck with another celebrity broker—this time, Raphael De Niro.)

The penthouse—essentially an enormous glass cube that’s the work of designer James Carpenter, who also worked on 7 World Trade Center—was plopped on top of the 1929-built 145 Hudson Street after a battle with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and it’s about as luxurious as you’d expect from a piece of prime Tribeca real estate.

A short list of its amenities: four bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, a 4,500-square-foot wraparound terrace (with a hot tub and outdoor shower), 18-foot ceilings, two sculptural staircases, a custom chef’s kitchen, three wood-burning fireplaces, a master bathroom covered in honey-colored onyx, “museum quality polished concrete and teak hardwood flooring,” a security system, and yes, even more.

Still, the big question remains: Will the place actually find a buyer? More expensive homes have sold in the area—witness the penthouse at 70 Vestry, which went into contract at $50 million—but unique properties like this one (i.e., ones that aren’t a boring white box) are often at a disadvantage. Guess we’ll have to wait and see if the fifth time is the charm.

And here’s the floorplan:

• Listing: 145 Hudson Street PH [Elliman]
• All Sky Lofts coverage [Curbed]