Up jumped spring in Manhattan, so John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were spurred to pick up a pleasingly upbeat pied-a-terre in the West Village: to that end, the duo dropped $7.7 million on a penthouse unit in a 19th century building at the bottom of Nolita.
Guess what? They’ve lived there before. In two different units, in point of fact, one of which they still own. The couple bought into the building in 2012, selling that first condo in 2016. In 2018 they returned to the building at the junction of Nolita, Soho and the LES with a $9 million penthouse purchase. The recent purchase gives the duo residential control over 6,000 square feet of interiors.
The building dates to 1856; a historic landmark, it was converted in 2010. The red brick exterior carries its history, of course, and period details abound in the unit itself. Within, the home is steeped in the same sense of history, with original brick and timber used as expressive materials; indeed, a few of the interior shots could stand on their own as pictorial definitions of ‘boutique building’. The rooftop terrace is pleasingly weather-beaten, with varied plantings and excellent panoramic views of the city.
With the high-end Manhattan housing market so dependent on fickle fashion for valuation, the building’s units have come down in price significantly since it opened at the dawn of the last decade.
