The NYC Townhouse That Refuses to Sell

 

 

After eight years of on and off and again listing with several brokers, Real Housewives of New York City star Sonja Morgan has taken her Manhattan townhouse off the market.

 

Morgan, 57, initially listed the Upper East Side home back in 2013 for $9.95 million amid her divorce battle with J.P. Morgan heir John A. Morgan. It has seen several price cuts since, including a $7.2 million price tag back in 2015.In 2018, after receiving no offers, she tried renting the five-story residence for $32,000 per month, property records show.  After extensive remodeling, the home was back on sale last summer for $8.75 million, in hopes of capitalizing on the vibrant market amid the pandemic.  But after a year without any solid offers, Morgan took the property off the market again last week.  “At this point, this house is nothing more than a financial drain, an emotional drain,” she explained on Season 12 of the Real Housewives of New York”.

 

Morgan was allowed to keep the townhouse in 2015 after she settled her five-year-long bankruptcy  case following her divorce. Last season on the show, Morgan revealed how she had to give up her own apartment on Columbus Circle and move back into the townhouse at the start of pandemic, since most New Yorkers had fled the city.

 

“I had to move back here, because I rented the apartment while this townhouse was rented, but when the pandemic struck, forget it! This wasn’t rented or sold. I had to move back here,” Sonja explained on the show’s May 4 episode.“.  She later added, "If no one’s renting the townhouse, I can’t be shelling out cash every month to rent my little pied-à-terre in Columbus Circle ... I am a guest in my own house until this gets rented or sold.”.  It is expected that Morgan will eventually put the posh pad back up for sale at a later date.

 

The New York City townhouse, located on 63rd Street, features a mahogany-paneled elevator and has five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The rooms are spread out over five floors totaling approximately 5,500 square feet (including the 800-square-foot basement), according to the listing.  Features include custom mosaic floors in the full-width entryway and the two large master primary ensuite baths with nautical motifs personal to the Morgan family. Mr. Morgan, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, J.P. Morgan, were all noted yachtsmen and Commodores of the New York Yacht Club,” the listing previously stated.  Other amenities include a sauna, a gym and a library. The exterior boasts an outdoor space with a landscaped garden that spans 575 square feet with a fountain and koi pond. There is also a 150-square-foot terrace on the fourth floor.