Mr. and Mrs. Donald Rubin have reportedly entered a contract to sell their townhouse at 122 East 70th Street for about $14.9 million and an article at online.wsj.com by Craig Karmin indicated that some real estate brokers were concerned that the low price of the sale might affect other townhouse sales on the Upper East Side, leading curbed.com to run an item with the headline "Is 14.9M Townhouse Sale the Death of the Upper East Side?"
The Rubins had acquired the house for about $5.05 million several years ago and listed it for sale in 2009 for $20.2 million.
It is on one of the city's most desirable streets with the wonderful Corrado coffee shop at the Lexington Avenue end and The Asia Society at the Park Avenue end and many impressive townhouses in between including one that was long used by Paul Mellon, the great art collector.
Mr. Rubin is the founder of MultiPlan, a managed heath-care network, and is known for large collection of Tibetan art, according to Mr. Karmin's article, which added that "he bought the former Barneys building on Seventh Avenue for $22 million during a 1998 bankruptcy sale and transformed the one-time fashion emporium into the Rubin Museum, which features Asian art."
The apartment's listing with Kathy Sloane of Brown Harris Stevens said that the 20-foot-wide building has "five charming outdoor spaces" and seven full baths and two half-baths, seven fireplaces, two full kitchens and a dumb waiter, a hot tub and spa, a wood-paneled library, a wet bar, a laundry room, a staff room and an elevator from the basement to the fifth floor.
According to Mr. Karmin's article, "the sale of a sharply marked-down townhouse on one of Manhattan's most exclusive blocks could deflate sale prices for townhouses throughout an elite neighborhood."
"Two properties," the article continued, "that brokers say are in superior condition to the Rubins' home but are still expected to feel the pinch: a neighboring townhouse on East 70th Street with an asking price of $27 million; and a mansion on East 71st Street that is asking $28.8 million."
The Rubins had acquired the house for about $5.05 million several years ago and listed it for sale in 2009 for $20.2 million.
It is on one of the city's most desirable streets with the wonderful Corrado coffee shop at the Lexington Avenue end and The Asia Society at the Park Avenue end and many impressive townhouses in between including one that was long used by Paul Mellon, the great art collector.
Mr. Rubin is the founder of MultiPlan, a managed heath-care network, and is known for large collection of Tibetan art, according to Mr. Karmin's article, which added that "he bought the former Barneys building on Seventh Avenue for $22 million during a 1998 bankruptcy sale and transformed the one-time fashion emporium into the Rubin Museum, which features Asian art."
The apartment's listing with Kathy Sloane of Brown Harris Stevens said that the 20-foot-wide building has "five charming outdoor spaces" and seven full baths and two half-baths, seven fireplaces, two full kitchens and a dumb waiter, a hot tub and spa, a wood-paneled library, a wet bar, a laundry room, a staff room and an elevator from the basement to the fifth floor.
According to Mr. Karmin's article, "the sale of a sharply marked-down townhouse on one of Manhattan's most exclusive blocks could deflate sale prices for townhouses throughout an elite neighborhood."
"Two properties," the article continued, "that brokers say are in superior condition to the Rubins' home but are still expected to feel the pinch: a neighboring townhouse on East 70th Street with an asking price of $27 million; and a mansion on East 71st Street that is asking $28.8 million."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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