Gramercy Park’s ornate medieval lair sells for $4.4M

Update, 2/16/18: The Real Deal reports that the sale of Gramercy Park’s medieval lair co-op has finally closed, and its previous owner netted a tidy sum for the place. Though it went into contract at $3.75 million, the property ended up closing for $4.4 million, according to city records. As for the previous owner, a former art dealer named Janos Aranyi, he’s moved to City Island.

Patience is a virtue, and apparently it’s one that’s paid off for the owners of Gramercy Park’s medieval lair co-op. The Post reports that the gloriously tudor-y two-bedroom has finally entered contract, ending a stay on the market of just over three years.

The Brown Harris Stevens broker who finally nabbed a buyer for the property declined to comment on the sales price or who finally purchased the unique home. The 1,868-square-foot apartment entered contract at $3.75 million, at just over half of its original $7 million asking price. The apartment has been on and off the market over the past few years, but last reappeared in July sporting a $1 million price cut.

The co-op sits on top of 44 Gramercy Park North and has reportedly been owned for the past half-a-century by a maker and restorer of picture frames whose handiwork appears in The Met.

Via Brown Harris Stevens

Some of the co-op’s standout features include its 88 feet of frontage along Gramercy Park North; handmade stained glass windows; a selection of carved statues, moldings, and vignettes; and a large terrace. An earlier listing for the property written by the seller elaborated on some of the apartment’s more personal details:

I have lived in this apartment for more than forty-six years — over 17,000 days. I have enjoyed every day. 17,000 days of joy. Now my wife and I would like to move on and let someone else have the pleasure of living here ... This apartment changed my life. I found most of my business contacts through social and business events here. I even met my wife at a party in this apartment. Many couples met here, got married here, had birthdays and anniversaries here. There have been concerts, theatrical performances and fashion shows in our home. Even financial analysis meetings have taken place here.

The former listing culminates, “To everything there is a season. The time has come to sell. May you have 17,000 days of joy in this home. What a life that would be.” (Cue the collective aw.)

• NYC’s ‘medieval lair’ finally finds a buyer [NYP]
• Gramercy Park's ornate medieval lair gets yet another discount [Curbed]
• Gramercy Park’s medieval lair gets yet another price cut, seeks $4.88M [Curbed]
• Gramercy Park’s Medieval Lair Returns With a Larger Floorplan Asking Less [Curbed]
• Gramercy Co-op That Looks Like a Medieval Castle Is Back [Curbed]
• $7 Million Gramercy Co-op Looks Like a Medieval Lair [Curbed]