J. Crew honcho’s colorful Tribeca pad returns with a huge discount

Once-ubiquitous retailer J. Crew has had its share of problems in the past few years—and so too has the company’s chairman Mickey Drexler, at least when it comes to his real estate ventures. Drexler has listed several of his homes, including a Hamptons estate and two Tribeca properties, in the past few years; all have yet to find buyers.

The most colorful of those properties is his expansive loft in Tribeca’s 140 Franklin Street, which has been on and off the market for nearly three years now; it returned this week with a new, lower price tag of $18.5 million.

That’s quite a change from when it first listed in 2015 with a $35 million asking price; it got a series of price cuts (and brokerage jumps—it’s now listed with Corcoran and Halstead) before landing at the current, much discounted price.

Part of the problem may be the apartment’s interiors: Drexler worked with lauded designer Thierry Despont to redo the place, and it has a lot of personality—and as we’ve seen in the past, highly personalized styling can be a turn-off to potential buyers. It does, however, have lots of quintessential Tribeca loft features: cast-iron columns, lovely arched windows, and the like.

The particulars remain the same: The home has five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, a custom kitchen with high-end appliances, an enormous living room with a “billiards area,” a 150-bottle “wine cave,” and other high-end finishes.

And now, the all-important question: Will the price chop—which takes the place to nearly half of its original asking price—help it find a buyer?

• Listing: 140 Franklin Street #5B [Corcoran, Halstead]
• J. Crew CEO’s Designer Tribeca Apartment Is Back For $25M [Curbed]