Pop artist James Rosenquist’s enormous Tribeca townhouse lists for $15.5M

Once upon a time, Tribeca was a haven for artists who occupied the spacious—and, at the time, relatively cheap—lofts and industrial buildings that were found throughout the neighborhood. But times have changed; now, it’s a celebrity-approved enclave where multimillion condos abound, and some of those apartments have sold for upwards of $40 million.

It’s no surprise, then, that a building owned by a big-name artist is listed for the princely sum of $15.5 million. The townhouse at 162 Chambers Street was once home to pop artist James Rosenquist, a contemporary of Roy Lichtenstein whose work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim, among others. He passed away in 2017, and according to his New York Times obit, he purchased this building in 1977, and used it as both studio and home space.

Though the listing, held by Chris Poore and Eyal Dagan of Sotheby’s, says the property could become a luxury condo or mixed-use building—it’s legally a three-family building, and comes with more than 7,000 square feet of buildable air rights—it was used by Rosenquist and his family as their New York City residence. And it’s huge, measuring around 10,020 square feet, with storage space in the basement and a roof terrace.

The first floor is dedicated to the studio, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors are all living space of some sort. (A 2003 Times profile noted that one of his sons lived in the Chambers Street building, which could explain why it’s chopped up the way it is.) There are five bedrooms, six bathrooms, high ceilings, and private elevator landings on every floor.

• Listing: 162 Chambers Street [Sotheby’s]