Skip to main content
New York Observer

Transfers: Hearst Towers

Published: 5/11/2016Source: New York Observer

Featuring Fabienne Lecole & Joy Handler's Hearst penthouse sale at 137 Riverside Drive, Upper West Side, Manhattan.

THOUGH THE TRIPLEX AT THE CLARENDON MIGHT be only a fraction of the enormous spread William Randolph Hearst once possessed in the building, it's still quite nice nonetheless, and it (finally) has a new owner.

It didn't happen too easily, though. Benedict Silverman, an investor and art collector, first put the triplex at 137 Riverside Drive on the market in 2014, asking an impressive $38 million. Two years, a brokerage switch and a price cut down to $24 million later, a buyer was found!

Of course, the $20 million that The A.H. 2012 Family Trust paid for the nearly 7,000 square foot co-op is nearly half the price that it was originally listed for, but then again, the seven-bedroom, 6.s-bath pad is also just a fragment of the late publishing magnate's onetime holdings at the Clarendon (he owned the entire building).

And while the penthouse is stunning, it is rather old school, so perhaps its more traditional charm only appealed to a certain set. Per the listing, shared by Corcoran brokers Joy Handler and Fabienne Lecole, the home boasts features such as a private landing that leads to a formal entrance hall, 17-foot ceilings, a chef's eat-in kitchen, floors embellished with marquetry designs and a Tiffany chandelier. And the new owners will also enjoy the 10,000 square feet of private outdoor terraces.

Mr. Silverman and his wife, Jayne Bentzen, embarked on quite the renovation of the famed publisher's former digs-before they purchased the place, it had apparently been sitting empty ever since the Hearsts departed for California in 1938.

But who could blame them? They did, after all, have an entire castle out there.

All in all, it's been a busy few months for Hearst's old haunts-his other onetime Upper West Side penthouse at 91 Central Park West sold to T-Mobile CEO John Legere for $18 million in October. 

RETURN TO PRESS PAGE