NEW YORK — Jones Lang LaSalle and The Corcoran Group represented building owner Lehm Holdings Inc. in the sale of 7 West 54th Street, also known as the Philip Lehman Mansion, to an unnamed buyer for $40 million. The six-story, 20,000-square-foot commercial townhouse recently underwent a $20 million renovation to restore the historic property to its original grandeur. The Philip Lehman Mansion was designated as a New York landmark in 1981.
The seller, Lehm Holdings, was represented by Aaron Ellison, senior vice president, with JLL and Carrie Chiang, associate real estate broker, with Corcoran. The unnamed buyer was represented by Shari Scharfer-Rollins, associate real estate broker, also with Corcoran.
“The Philip Lehman Mansion is one of only a handful of turn-of-the century residences remaining on West 54th Street,” said Ellison. “This historic and ultra-high-end property is ideal as a Manhattan flagship headquarters space and offers a unique opportunity unlike any other in the marketplace.”
According to Chiang, “The Philip Lehman Mansion is a touchstone of quality architecture and design that will stand the test of time into the next century. It is a truly rare property with unmatched investment value.”
The Philip Lehman Mansion, designed in the French Beaux-Arts style by architect John H. Duncan, was constructed in 1889 for Philip Lehman, the son of Lehman Brothers co-founder Emanuel Lehman, and his wife Carrie Lauer. The six-story limestone mansion features copper-framed ocular windows, a bowed-stone balcony, and French doors with elaborate carved festoons and cartouches.
In the late 1950s, the Philip Lehman Mansion became the residence of Robert Lehman, Philip’s son. The townhouse served as his private art gallery, exhibiting works by Rembrandt, Goya, Durer, Renoir, Ingres and El Greco. Upon his death in 1969, Robert Lehman bequeathed the artwork to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the caveat that the collection must always remain intact. He had hoped the mansion would be dismantled and reconstructed as a wing of the museum. Rather than move the entire building, The Met dismantled several rooms, installing them as part of the Robert Lehman Wing, which opened in 1975.
In 2006, with the cooperation of the museum, the landmarked townhouse underwent a meticulous, $20 million restoration by skilled artisans and designers, with many features of the original building returned to the mansion. The work included the addition of a modern, glass penthouse with a retractable roof, an elevator and state-of-the-art mechanical, electrical and HVAC systems.
JLL is a leader in the New York tri-state commercial real estate market, with more than 1,600 of the most recognized industry experts offering brokerage, capital markets, property/facilities management, consulting, and project and development services. In 2012, the New York tri-state team completed approximately 23.8 million square feet in lease transactions, arranged capital markets transactions valued at $1.57 billion, managed projects valued at nearly $7.0 billion, and oversaw a property and facilities management portfolio of 102.1 million square feet and an agency leasing portfolio of 76.0 million square feet.
About The Corcoran Group
The Corcoran Group, a leading residential real estate brokerage company in New York City, operates 40 offices with 2,200 sales associates serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Hamptons, the North Fork, Shelter Island, Delray Beach and Palm Beach, Fla. The Corcoran Group, www.corcoran.com, is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, operates Realogy’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices.
About Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual revenue of $3.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle operates in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services to a property portfolio of 2.6 billion square feet and completed $63 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2012. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $46.7 billion of real estate assets under management. For further information, visit www.jll.com.