OWNER: Oprah Winfrey LOCATION: Chicago, IL PRICE: $15,000/month SIZE: 4,607 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms YOUR MAMAS NOTES: This afternoon we happily ride on the coat tails of reporter (and venerable real estate gossip) Bob Goldsborough at the Chicago Tribune who discovered and revealed this week that billionaire chat show host turned magazine tycoon turned television network owning mega-mogul Oprah Winfrey recently put a swank Chicago, IL co-operative apartment she owns up for lease at $15,000 per month. Miz Winfrey reportedly purchased the posh apartment in the urban-upscale Streeterville neighborhood in 2006 for $5,600,000. Despite securing the approval of the co-op board with a promise to make it her full-time residence, Miz Winfrey quickly had a real estate change of heart and never moved in to the 4,607 square foot apartment. From June 2008 until January 2009 Miz Winfrey had the mansion-sized apartment on the market for $6,000,000 but it did not, as far as we can tell, sell. Entered though a private elevator landing and a series of squeezy vestibules, the chunky floor-through apartment cleaves dramatically along a central spine, an enfilade that extends more than 80 feet from the bowed bay window in the lake-view formal living room clan through the reception gallery, formal dining room and solarium at the rear of the residence. The living room opens into a cozy wood-paneled and wood-floored library with fireplace wide bank of windows that afford of view through the tree tops to Lake Michigan and the popular Oak Street Beach. Extensive service quarters, tucked discreetly behind the elevator and formal dining room, include a well-equipped, galley style kitchen with antiqued white cabinetry, granite counter tops and breakfast area, separate laundry room, access to the service elevator, and a kitchen-size butler’s pantry with dark cabinets and granite counter tops. There’s also an oddly shaped home office with built-in desk and a separate wine/booze storage room with brick walls, floor-to-ceiling built-in bottle racks and a full height wine refrigerator. A guest suite has an enviably large walk-in closet, fireplace, private bathroom with window, and French doors access to a small terrace shared with the master bedroom. The approximately 1,300 square foot master suite wraps around the guest suite and stretches from the front of the apartment clear through to the back. In addition to three walk-in closets there are additional built-in storage cabinets and a substantial entertainment unit. The master includes not just one or even two but 2.5 bathrooms. Up front there is both a full bath–well, a three-quarter bathroom anyway–plus a completely separate bedside half bathroom. At the rear of the house-sized suite, in an area that was probably originally designed as a third bedroom with private bathroom, there’s another and significantly larger bathroom with jetted tub for two, separate party-sized steam shower for two or more, a private cubby for the crapper, double sinks and–harumph!–gold-plated fixtures. French doors open out to the small terrace shared with the guest suite. As far as we know, when in the Windy City, Miz Winfrey continues to occupy in her 15,000(-ish) square foot 4-unit combination duplex condominium at the mixed-use Water Tower Place complex in downtown Chicago where she’s lived since, well, we don’t know but a long time. Since she closed up shop on her long-running, hugely-successful and frighteningly-influential talk show–the eponymous Oprah Winfrey Show –Miz Winfrey has all but permanently relocated to the West Coast where her also eponymous Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) offices are located. Of course we don’t know a turnip truck from a fire hose but we none-the-less presume the still busy businesswoman and philanthropist now spends a considerable amount of time at her manicured 42-acre estate in the low key but eye-poppingly affluent coastal resort community of Montecito, CA. The OWN offices are located in Los Angeles Miracle Mile district, far to far to comfortably commute on a daily basis even by helicopter. We recently had lunch at the SoHo House in West Hollywood with gabby tattletale we’ll call Knelly Knowsathingortwo who swore to Your Mama on her seared Ahi tuna salad that Miz Winfrey is actively on the hunt for a bolt hole in Tinseltown. We have no specific intel but it makes sense. Iffin we were the betting type–and we’re not–we’d wager our long-bodied bitches Linda and Beverly she’ll gravitate towards a multi-million dollar condominium. She has a long history of owning apartments in urban and semi-urban locations, after all, but has she considered Ellen Degeneres’ house nestled privately into the rugged mountains above Beverly Hills? Just a thought. listing photos and floor plan:VHT Studios for
Posts Tagged ‘ century city ’
Did Sally Field Do It in the West Village?
BUYER: Sally Field LOCATION: New York City, NY PRICE: $2,550,000 SIZE: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms YOUR MAMAS NOTES: A snitchy little birdie told landed outside out window this morning and chirp-chirp-chirped that Oscar-, Emmy-, Golden Globe- and People’s Choice-award winning actress Sally Field (may have) recently snatched up a New York City pied-a-terre. Okay, truth is Your Mama actually read it in a barely-there blurb in the Gimme Shelter column of the New York Post this morning like everybody else. Property records available online reveal that just before Halloween a woman named Sally Field spent $2,550,000 to acquire a two bedroom and two bathroom cooperative apartment in one of the more refined and in-demand buildings in downtown Manhattan’s West Village. Your Mama can not confirm, however, the Sally Field who signed her famous name on the deed’s dotted line is the very same Sally Field ( Gidget, Sybil, Norma Rae, Steel Magnolias ) whose long and sometimes hilly Showbiz career has been on fire the last few years with the screaming success of the now canceled family (melo)drama Brothers & Sisters . So, for now anyways, this is just some celebrity real estate rumor and gossip, okay? Thing is, we love us some Sally Field so we can’t resist taking her real estate ball and running with it… The apartment in question sits on a high floor of an august 17-story pre-war building, a red and brown brick edifice of reassuring proportions designed by architect Robert T. Lyons, built by the Bing brothers–that makes it what’s known in local parlance as a Bing & Bing building–and completed in 1931. Handsome Art Deco-era architectural flourishes with a Greek key design embellish the facade. Originally an apartment hotel– hello Wikipedia –the building converted to a co-operative apartment house in 1987. Some of the children may recognize this building as the very same one where it was once widely rumored and reported sit-com and rom-com queen Jennifer Aniston was interested in the possible acquisition of a duplex penthouse then priced at $14,950,000. Miz Aniston did not buy the duplex. She bought, as it turns out, two apartments in another West Village Bing & Bing building. Records show the posh penthouse Miz Aniston didn’t buy was actually purchased for $12,500,000 by one of the many daughters of the very philanthropic co-founder of Purdue Pharmaceuticals , the makers of OxyContin . Anyhoo, we’re not here to speak on Miz Aniston’s sometimes fickle and inexplicable real estate ways but rather those of a lady named Sally Field who who may or may not be Sally Field and who just paid $2,550,000 for the aforementioned high-floor apartment in a fancy but relaxed pre-war building in New York’s West Village. The always informative real estate website StreetEasy shows the apartment, a successful combination between a studio and a one bedroom apartment, was listed with a price tag of $2,350,000, which means, as per our bejeweled abacus that this Miz Field paid $200,000 over the asking price. And what did her extra two hundred thousand get her y’all might wonder? Listing information shows 4-room corner apartment, fairly spacious by West Village standards where a puny 300 square foot 5th floor walk up studio apartment can easily cost $1,700 per month , has windowed exposure on four sides and carries hefty monthly maintenance charges of $2,426 per month. A long and narrow entrance hall with an excellently large walk-in coat closet directs traffic into a lofty living/dining area with beamed ceilings, large windows with pretty city views, and the first of two wood burning fireplaces in the apartment. Your Mama hopes somebody tells Miz Field that all that track lighting in the living room needs to be removed. A woman of her stature and eminence probably shouldn’t have track lighting in their home(s). Anyhoodles poodles, the simply designed but decently sized kitchen opens to the dining area over a long counter topped half with marble and half with butcher block. The dishwasher situated directly under the sink causes Your Mama’s heart to palpitate uncomfortably How does one rinse and load dishes in a set up like that anyhow? When we take into account this is a kitchen in Manhattan–and one must absolutely take in to account this is a kitchen in Manhattan and not a kitchen in a suburban mcmansion–the ugly dishwasher situation is somewhat mitigated by the full-size fridge/freezer, large window for proper light and ventilation, teeny-tiny walk-in pantry, and impressive amount of counter space. The living/dining room is flanked by bedrooms, each with two closets (including one walk-in in each room) and an attached bathroom. The master bedroom has a fireplace and a window in the walk-in closet but it’s also got green marble tile floors–What the hell?!?–and a petite, window-free bathroom. The second bedroom, only slightly smaller than the master, also has a walk-in closet plus cross-ventilation and a welcomed window in the compact bathroom where, somewhat regrettably, the stacked washer and dryer are installed. That complaint aired, we again recognize this is a New York City apartment where an inconveniently located private washer-dryer stack is immeasurably much better than no private washer-dryer stack at all. For two and a half million of our clams Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter would hope and pine for a slice of outdoor space. Otherwise, in our humble and meaningless opinion, this apartment reeks of Big Apple desirability and can easily be fashioned into a comfortable urban aerie for part- or full-time living that would appeal to just about everyone perhaps but those poor people afflicted with the dreaded Real Estate Size Queen Syndrome, a disease that often and unfortunately goes hand-in-hand with the even more infectious Real Estate Snobitis. Until recently Sally Field– the Sally Field–owned a secluded estate nestled into the rolling foothills of Malibu that she first listed in March 2009 for $6,950,000 . The estate, complete with swimming pool, tennis court, and equestrian facilities was taken off the market after just months. The private property wasn’t re-listed until May 2011 when it popped up with a new, improved and much lower asking price of $5,900,000. Property records we peeped show was sold within two months. Early reports in the celebrity real estate gossip blogs and publications like the L.A. Times show the property sold for $5,650,000 but a closer examination of online deeds and documents shows it sold for $5,909,000. Make of that what you will. As best as Your Mama can tell the horsey estate was sold to a Malibu gynecologist and a Pacific Palisades-based clinical psychologist who bills herself as a “love and happiness guru.” listing photos: Sotheby’s International Realty via StreetEasy See the article here: Did Sally Field Do It in the West Village?
Monday Morning Morsel: Rihanna
Thanks to Our Fairy Godmother in Beverly Hills Your Mama recently learned that Grammy-winning pop music sensation Rihanna (née Robyn Fenty) has somewhat quietly floated her water-logged Beverly Hills, CA mansion on the market with an asking price of $4,500,000. The children may recall that the Barbados-born international superstar snatched up the very contemporary crib high in the hills above Beverly back in September 2009 when she paid $6,900,000 for the then newly constructed 8 bedroom and 10 bathroom celebrity-size mansion. Just over a two years later, in late August (2011), it was revealed and widely reported by all the celebrity and real estate gossips that Riri was mad as a wet cat and had filed a lawsuit against the property developer (and a slew of others) that claims design and construction defects repeatedly allowed (rain) water to infiltrate and cause significant damage to various parts of the house after even the most moderate of rain storms. The gist and heart of the legal matter is that Rihanna (and her team of legal eagles and business managers) alleges the house was poorly constructed and leaks like a sieve when it rains. The suit goes on to claim the seller–named in property records and legal documents as Heather Rudomin–was or should have known about and disclosed the defects. In California, as in many states, sellers of real property must disclose any known defects or issues that might affect the value, use or enjoyment of the property. Not to disclose known faults constitutes fraud. A document provided to Your Mama by Our Fairy Godmother in Beverly Hills makes no bones about the current condition of the hill topping city view property–pictured in the document looking abandoned with paper and debris strewn over the front motor court–as having “significant water intrusion & moisture issues throughout” as well as “encroachment issues.” Furthermore, the listing states the property may be “subject to short sale” and that the seller “will consider all offers.” We don’t know the status of Miss Riri’s lawsuit against the property developer or any of the other many folks named in the suit, but it’s clear she’s ready to put this real estate episode behind her even if it means a multi-million dollar gut punch to her pocketbook. Note: listing photos above show the house as it appeared when Rihanna purchased the property and may or may not reflect the current condition and/or day-core of the home. aerial photo: Google listing photos: Coldwell Banker Previews International More here: Monday Morning Morsel: Rihanna
Weekend Nugget Number Two: Jennifer Aniston
Rumor has it sitcom star and romcom queen Jennifer Aniston caught a costly case of the Celebrity Real Estate Fickle. Since she landed a co-starring role (and earned many tens of millions of dollars from) Friends Miz Aniston has lived primarily in Los Angeles. In April of this year (2011), with an itch to spend more time in The Big Apple where her actor man-beau Justin Theroux ( American Psycho, Six Feet Under, John Adams mini-series) resides, Miz Aniston coughed up $2,069,084 for a 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom apartment directly below a compact 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom penthouse with wrap around terraces that she bought at the same time from hairstyling honcho Sally Hershberger for $4,950,000. The plan, presumably, was to combine the two small apartments located in a top-notch Bing & Bing building in the West Village into a still not particularly large duplex penthouse with 270 degree views from downtown to Midtown Manhattan. Alas, Miz Aniston has reportedly changed her real estate mind and signed contracts to acquire a pricey pad in a particularly posh building that overlooks private, pristine and historic Gramercy Park . The high-style, full-service building was developed by boutique hotelier and property developer Ian Schrager, designed by soo-blime minimalist architect John Pawson and has only 23 apartments (some have been combined). Residents have access to the copious amenities of the adjacent Gramercy Park Hotel –once funky now terribly chic and owned by Mister Shrager, natch–including room service, housekeeping, valet parking with car wash services, event planning and butler services, personal shopping and delivery services, and membership to the hotel spa and David Barton gym. We assume the apartment comes with a key to gated Gramercy Park across the street. Listing information shows the apartment Miz Aniston is (allegedly) on the cusp of acquiring, listed at a superstar-sized $8,700,000, measures 2,873 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and pocketbook punishing monthly maintenance and common charges of $11,258. Gorgeous wood floors run throughout the apartment that has generous 11’8″ ceilings and over-sized windows with park and courtyard views. The contemporary crib features a long entrance gallery with nearby powder pooper, and a large living/dining room with fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows, a sleek center island eat-in kitchen. The park view master suite has a walk-in closet/dressing room larger than some New York City studio apartments and an attached bathroom with two sinks, a tub for two and separate shower cubicle. Each of the two guest rooms–both set up as a nursery by the seller–has large windows and en suite terliting and bathing facility. We imagine (and hope) Miz Aniston will bring in her team of smart architects and nice, gay decorators to remove the twee and toile-ish day-core of the seller and replace it with something more appropriate for a gal whose tastes run more towards modern than Connecticut country house in the city. Other residents–or at least owners–of apartments in the swank building include blue chip gallerist Alexander Acquavella and German-born but Paris-based haute fashion über-icon Karl Lagerfeld who has his little (or never) used unit in the building currently on the market with an asking price of $5,200,000 . We can’t fathom why Miz Aniston would switch real estate gears and head for Gramercy Park so quickly after spending more than seven million clams on two downtown apartments but, if we’ve said it once we’ve said to 56,417 times, such are the often fickle and inexplicable real estate ways of the rich and/or famous. Back on the left coast Your Mama hears through the celebrity real estate gossip grapevine Miz Aniston has gone on the hunt for a new Tinseltown residence to lay her perfectly-maintained tresses after she was kissed by the real estate leprechaun in June (2011) when she sold her just renovated Beverly Hills, CA mansion to a mutual fund mogul from Orange County for a gasp-worthy $35,000,000 after just two months on the open market with an even more gaspy price tag of $42,000,000 . More than one of Your Mama’s many Platinum Triangle informants have snitched to us that Miz Aniston has peeped and poked around a number of deluxe homes in the ten million dollar range including a one-acre ridge-top spread in Beverly Hills owned by the scion of a prominent Los Angeles family as well as a sleek and sexy Hal Leavitt-designed house in the Trousdale Estates area of Bev Hills owned by AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, decorated by Kelly Wearstler and recently acquired for well over $10,000,000 by music industry super-tycoon Simon Cowell. Until she picks and purchases a fancy-pants new pad in Los Angeles, Miz Aniston and Mister Theroux have leased a temporary love nest in the form a modestly sized but still quite pricey gated residence near the tippy-top of the star-studded Bird Streets neighborhood above the Sunset Strip. We don’t know what the couple coughs up each month for the 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom ranch-style residence but we do know it was last available with a $20,000 per month price tag. Once again, we’re not sure why Miz Aniston would opt to cough up twenty grand a month to rent a house when she has long owned another residence in the Bird Street neighborhood that is, buy our rudimentary calculations, just over half a mile from her and Mister Theroux’s rental. But again, who are we to make sense of the wacky ways of celebrities and other high profile peeps with pockets deep enough to indulge their every real estate whim and desire? listing photos and floor plan: Prudential Douglas Elliman More: Weekend Nugget Number Two: Jennifer Aniston
Century City
Century City is a 176-acre (712,000-m 2 ) commercial and residential district on the Westside of the City of Los Angeles . It is bounded by Westwood on the west, Rancho Park on the southwest, Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood on the southeast, and the city of Beverly Hills on the northeast. Its major thoroughfares are Santa Monica , Olympic , and Pico Boulevards (its northern boundary, central artery, and southern boundary, respectively), as well as Avenue of the Stars and Century Park East and West. Century City is an important business center, and many law firms and executives — particularly those with ties to the film, television, and music industries — have offices there. — Neighborhood of Los Angeles — Century City skyline from Santa Monica Boulevard Century City Location within Western Los Angeles Coordinates: 34°03′20″N 118°25′01″W / 34.05556°N 118.41694°W / 34.05556; -118.41694 Country United States State California County Los Angeles City Los Angeles Time zone PST ( UTC-8 ) PDT ( UTC-7 ) Skyscrapers and other important landmarks The high-rise buildings along Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood appear to blend in with those of Century City when seen at a distance, although they are separated by over three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km). Its gleaming high-rises stand in stark contrast to the small apartment buildings and single-family detached homes in the lower-density neighborhoods surrounding it, and were some of the first skyscrapers built in Los Angeles after the lifting of earthquake-related height restrictions in the early 1960s. For many years, it was home to the ABC Entertainment Center, which housed network operations for the ABC Television Network and the Shubert Theater, which hosted many famous Broadway musicals, such as Beauty and the Beast , Les Misérables , Cats , Annie , and Mamma Mia! . The Shubert was demolished in 2002 and became replaced by a modern glass building that houses the headquarters Creative Artists Agency affectionately known as the Death Star , which is part of the complex called Century Park . Some of the most recognized buildings in Century City include: The Century Towers Century Plaza Towers , commonly referred to as the “Twin Towers”. Fox Plaza , 20th Century Fox headquarters most well-known for being Nakatomi Plaza in the movie Die Hard . Constellation Place , (or the MGM Tower ) headquarters of the historic Hollywood studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Watt Plaza SunAmerica Center Century Plaza Hotel Century City News Aerial view of the Century City neighborhood; Fox Studios still occupies the lower left quadrant Century City Skyline as seen from Runyon Canyon Park . Feb. 19th, 2006 View of the Century City skyline from the Getty Center . Downtown Los Angeles ( Bunker Hill district) can faintly be seen to the east of Century City. Taken December 22, 2004. The Century Plaza Towers The Fox Plaza At the southern end of Century City, Fox Plaza towers over the nearby neighborhoods. History Once a backlot of 20th Century Fox , which still has its headquarters just to the southwest, the Fox studio commissioned a master-plan development from Welton Becket Associates, which was unveiled at a major press event on the “western” backlot in 1957 . In 1961, after Fox suffered a string of expensive flops, culminating in the box-office disaster Cleopatra , the film studio sold about 180 acres (0.73 km 2 ) to developer William Zeckendorf and Aluminum Co. of America, also known as Alcoa . The new owners conceived Century City as “a city within a city.” [1] In 1963 , the first building, Century City Gateway West, was complete, followed the next year by Minoru Yamasaki ‘s Century Plaza Hotel . It originally was planned to be served by the Beverly Hills Freeway (Santa Monica Boulevard to the north) and a rapid transit corridor. However, neither of these transportation improvements came to pass, and so Century City is a source of traffic irritation for the residents of Cheviot Hills to the south, since there is no direct freeway access to the center. It is likely that any westward extension of the Los Angeles MTA ‘s Metro Purple Line subway will include a stop at Century City. Much of the shopping center’s architecture and style is shown off in numerous sequences in the 1967 Fox film, A Guide for the Married Man , and can also be seen in a sequence in another Fox film of the same year, Caprice . The way the plaza looked in 1972 can be viewed in several scenes of still another Fox film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes . Demographics In 2009, the Los Angeles Times ‘ s “Mapping L.A.” project supplied these Century City statistics: population: 5,513; median household income: $95,135. [2] Economy Northrop Grumman is headquartered in Century City, [3] [4] [5] but on January 4, 2010 announced plans to move to the Washington Metropolitan Area by 2011. [6] Companies with headquarters in Century City include Univision [7] [8] , Crystal Cruises [9] [10] , Creative Artists Agency , Moelis & Co , Canyon Capital Advisors , Ares Management , Imperial Capital, LLC , International Lease Finance Corporation and Korn/Ferry and Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP . [ citation needed ] Government and infrastructure The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Century City. [11] Emergency services Fire service Los Angeles Fire Department Station 92 is the assigned fire station for the district. [12] Police service Los Angeles Police Department operates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Avenue, 90025, serving the neighborhood. [13] Education The neighborhood is within the Los Angeles Unified School District . [14] Public schools serving it are Westwood Charter Elementary School , Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and Webster Middle School. Before fall 2007, students in grades 9 through 12 were assigned to Hamilton High School , but, in that term, LAUSD reassigned Century City’s 9th graders to University High School , and grades 10 through 12 were to be phased into the University High attendance area. [15]
Monroe’s ‘River of No Return’ dress auctioned off
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The dress Marilyn Monroe wore in ” River of No Return ” has sold to a private buyer for $504,000. Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien’s Auctions, said Saturday that the dress was sold at an auction in China. Read more: Monroe’s ‘River of No Return’ dress auctioned off
Occupy LA Protesters Go After FOX
On the 21st day of Occupy Los Angeles at City Hall, the day started with a field trip billed as “Occupy FOX”… a field trip to the 20th Century Fox
Finding Section 8 Housing
Section 8 Housing Section 8 Housing Finding low income housing can be a difficult task. It is necessary that you have as much information as possible. This article will tell you a little bit about the program, how it works, if you are eligible for section 8 housing, how to apply and where to find more information on section 8 apartments and single family homes. The Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly referred to as Section 8, a reference to the section of U.S. Housing Act of 1937 that created the subsidy program, has helped low-income families pay the rent since the Great Depression and is widely considered to be one of the most successful affordable housing programs. Authorized in 1974 by Congress, the Section 8 housing program provides low income apartments through rental subsidies for eligible low income families. This program is an effective way for the government to provide clean, safe, affordable homes and apartments for rent to families and individuals in need. Section 8 Eligibility Local PHA’s compare the total annual gross income and family size to the median income for the metropolitan area in which they operate. Typically, families whose income does not exceed 50 percent of the median income for the area are eligible. Also, a PHA must grant 75 percent of its vouchers to applicants whose incomes are less than 30 percent of the median income. Check with your local PHA to find your area’s specific income limits. The application process will examine each applicant’s income, assets and family characteristics. Verifications with local banks and employers will be completed to determine Section 8 eligibility. Section 8 Housing Vouchers If the PHA determines that an applicant is eligible for low income housing they will be granted a voucher which can be used at apartment buildings and home rental properties that participate in the Section 8 housing program. To find participating apartments and houses, use MyNewPlace apartment search and select the ‘affordable’ icon on the amenities drop down toolbar. This will display apartment buildings that offer low income housing. The PHA, since it has limited resources, sets parameters. The goal of the housing program is to allow for the participating families to rent an affordable apartment, which is defined as a rental that is 30 percent of monthly income. The PHA therefore determines a payment standard, which is the amount of a moderately priced home or apartment for rent in the local housing market. Section 8 participants can use their housing voucher to rent an apartment that is around this payment standard. Though PHAs allow for families to choose apartments or homes for rent that exceed the payment standard, they would be responsible for paying any additional amount. By law, the PHA limits the percentage of income that can be paid towards rent to 40 percent of income, however. Section 8 Waiting Lists Long waiting lists are common in many areas as the demand for affordable apartments usually greatly outpaces the resources available to HUD and PHAs. Some PHAs have actually closed their waiting lists. Each PHA is different, so it is essential to do some research before you start looking for an apartment for rent. PHAs do, however establish priorities for certain applicant families such as those that are homeless or living in squalid conditions, paying more than 50 percent of its income towards rent or have been involuntarily displaced. The PHA is has the latitude to establish priorities according to the demands of the local market.
Floor Plan Porn: 834 Fifth Avenue
Listen chickadoodles , today is a travel day so we’re a little tight on time. We decided a little last minute to fly up to San Francisco to cavort and frolic for a few drunken days with our boozy b.f.f. Fiona Trambeau as well as much-adored pals Miss Anne, Patty Cake, and Falsetta Knockers and her husband Herr Wordsmith. While there, iffin anyone cares, we plan to visit the Kabuki Springs and Spa for a long massage, get a new tattoo, and see sassy comedienne Chelsea Handler who’s in town for the Litquake literary festival . Anyhoo , as short on time as we may be this morning we’re loathe to leave The Children high and dry so we thought we’d quickly pass along some heavenly floor plan porn in the form of a monumental 15-room duplex spread at the insanely posh and lavishly expensive limestone-clad Rosario Candela -designed building at 834 Fifth Avenue in New York City. The grandly-scaled 3 bedroom and 3.5 bathroom residence, owned by the estate of deceased concrete construction tycoon Walter C. Goldstein , was pushed on to the open market this week with an asking price of $27,500,000 and steep monthly maintenance/common charges of $9,396. Current listing information does not include photos of the titanic apartment but based on the included floor plan there are a few highlights Your Mama would like to point out: –the 38-foot long (and nearly 850 square foot) paneled living room with wood burning fireplace and quartet of over-sized windows with views over Central Park. –the sizable service wing that contains a large with walk-in china storage closet, a fully-equipped kitchen-sized pantry, and separate breakfast room. –the extensive staff quarters spread over two floors that total 7 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, plus a sitting room with kitchenette. –the sweeping curved staircase in the capacious entrance gallery–the kind of magnificent architectural drama Rosario Candela is famous for–that leads to the ballroom-scaled upper landing off of which open three grand bedrooms each with large bathroom. –the massive master suite with fireplace, boudoir, custom-fitted dressing room plus two additional walk-in closets and a large (but windowless) bathroom There have been a number of sales in the hoity – toity building the last couple of years including in July 2011 when Broadway producer Hal Prince sold his terraced, high-floor duplex for $24,900,000 to Amabel and Hamilton “Tony” James, the COO of the Blackstone Group COO James Hamilton. In January 2011 retail magnate Leslie Wexner –billionaire He-rah of of Limited Brands –sold their Thierry Despont -designed duplex to property developer Samuel J. Heyman . Financier (and former ambassador to Belgium) Paul Cejas sold his 2 bedroom spread in May 2010 to ink heir and tycoon Maurice Amon for $15,000,000 and the previous month Charles Schwab sold his high-floor aerie for $12,500,000 to San Francisco based doyenne Miriam “Mimi” Haas, widow of Levi Strauss executive and heir Peter Haas . The year before, in March 2009, philanthropic Loews heiress Laurie Tisch dropped $29,000,000 for a gracious 13-room residence with 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms (plus a 4-room staff suite with bathroom), 37-foot long living room, pine paneled library, 4 fireplaces, and two terraces. Some of the other residents–or apartment owners–at 834 include Bing Crosby’s son Harry, philanthropist, haute couture queen and high society doyenne Carroll McDaniel Portago Carey-Hughes Pistell Petrie who once lived on the 5 th floor and now lives in Pauline Pitt-designed digs on the 10 th floor, and famously fat living former “King of Wall Street” John Gutfreund and his very social wife Susan whose live primarily in a plush Parisian apartment they put up for sale in 2010 but still maintain an opulent Henri Samuel-designed 16-room apartment at 834 Fifth Avenue that measures in at a hefty hefty hefty 12,000 square feet . Your Mama has many times discussed 834 Fifth Avenue and its long list of high net worth residents who occupy some of the most grand and elegant apartments in all of New York City. Kudos to the kids at Curbed for being the first real estate gossip site to present this astounding and astonishing property and floor plan. exterior photo: Property Shark floor plan: Brown Harris Stevens Here is the original post: Floor Plan Porn: 834 Fifth Avenue