The Most Expensive Property In Brooklyn, New York
By Twisted Sifter on Thursday, August 20, 2009 filed under PROPERTIES, PLACES & STRUCTURES.
A stunning triplex penthouse apartment that overlooks the Brooklyn Bridge and New York Harbour has just been listed for $25 million USD, making it the most expensive property in Brooklyn (if it sells mind you). The penthouse sits atop one of the tallest buildings in Dumbo, the cobblestoned neighborhood that sprang to life in the 80s in a former industrial area between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

Unsurprisingly, the apartment was commissioned by David Walentas, the creator of the Dumbo neighborhood (I hate this name!). The building was originally a cardboard box factory, a relic from New York’s industrial past. Walentas renamed the factory the ClockTower Building and converted it first into offices for the New York State Labor Department, and then into 124 condominiums in 1998.

The ClockTower Building Penthouse
- Listed at $25 million USD
- 3,000 square foot main floor features an open concept design with 16 foot ceilings
- Each wall is dominated by a striking 14-foot fully functional window clock
- A glass-walled elevator and a three-story floating staircase at the center of the space lead to smaller floors that narrow toward the top of the tower
- There are three bedrooms on the 2,300-square-foot second floor
- On the third floor, there is a 988-square-foot open loft with a 15-foot ceiling
- Of course, at the very top of the building is a tiny windswept crow’s nest

The highest sale price on record for a home in Brooklyn is the $11 million sale of a house in 2006 in Gravesend. The highest price paid for a condominium is the $7 million sale of a 14th-floor apartment at the ClockTower building last year. That condo is now listed for sale at $8.5 million. (Is it coincidence the two most-expensive condos in Brooklyn are for sale and in the same building?)

Walentas’s real estate company recently won approval to construct an 18-story building near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge over the objections of neighborhood residents. Walentas says the building will not affect the views from One Main Street, as the ClockTower Condo is also known.

The glass-walled elevator and a three-story floating staircase

A glimpse into a second-floor bed and bath

Surprisingly, the sofa will not be included with purchase

Watch out! Literally.

Do you have the time? Why yes, it’s $25M past poor o’clock

All information and photographs from the New York Times article and slide show below:
- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/realestate/09deal1.html
- http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/08/07/realestate/0809-deal-slideshow_index.html
All photographs by Ángel Franco for The New York Times
Maximum respect to my friend Paul for showing me this beautiful property. Good Look!

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If you enjoyed this property, the Sifter highly recommends: Stunning Open Concept Design by Wallflower Architecture + Design



Chris
August 20th, 2009 at 2:38 pmsick pad!
banditalamode
August 20th, 2009 at 8:02 pmWow. Just, wow.
Twisted_Sifter
August 20th, 2009 at 8:08 pmCheers for the comments Chris and Banditalamode!
It's certainly one of the most unique spaces I've seen. The clocks are so cool! Even the shadows they make on the floor are fantastic.
I can't get over the price though. $25 million is such a staggering amount!!
Most Expensive Brooklyn Property Proves Time Is Money
August 26th, 2009 at 2:01 pm[...] a Gravesend home in 2006, making the penthouse the most expensive real estate buy in Brooklyn. [via twistedsifter and nytimes. pics via NYT’s Ángel [...]
OlhoNaTV
August 28th, 2009 at 6:04 pmIt's so Brooklyn! I miss that place.
Twisted_Sifter
August 28th, 2009 at 6:18 pmGreetings OlhoNaTV!
What's your impression of the Dumbo neighbourhood? Let us non New-Yorkers have a taste!
<img src="http://shingirmingir.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/brooklyn.jpg">
Cabs may not go to Brooklyn, but I WILL!!! – thejohnnyyang.com
September 4th, 2009 at 11:54 pm[...] Gravesend home in 2006, making the penthouse the most expensive real estate buy in Brooklyn. [via twistedsifter andnytimes. pics via NYT’s Ángel [...]
dan
September 7th, 2009 at 11:02 pmSimply stunning.
Love those clock windows…
Twisted_Sifter
September 8th, 2009 at 3:49 amGreetings Dan!
The 14-ft clocks are definitely the most unique aspect of this place. I wonder how often it needs/gets cleaned?
Nice M$ rant on your site btw I feel your pain
z8roma's me2DAY
September 8th, 2009 at 4:33 amz8? …
?????? ?? ???? ????????~ from xguru…
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September 17th, 2009 at 8:42 pm[...] a Gravesend home in 2006, making the penthouse the most expensive real estate buy in Brooklyn. [via twistedsifter and nytimes. pics via NYT’s Ángel [...]
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Affordable Web
November 15th, 2009 at 2:29 pmwhat a gorgeous view
Twisted_Sifter
November 15th, 2009 at 3:20 pmcould not agree more. the view is absolutely stunning! i'd be quite content to be able to walk out to that every morning
thanks for dropping by!
Evan
January 8th, 2010 at 10:40 pmDumbo did not exist in the eighties. In fact it barely existed in the nineties. (David Walentas started buying real estate there aroun '95 and coined the absolutely atrocious name Dumbo around '98 I think. The neighborhood did not become a haven for developers and their rich clients until about 2002 or so. It was still predominantly populated by Artists until about 2003-2004. In the eighties it was mostly industrial buildings that were only about half occupied or less. Since that time, like most of Brooklyn, it experienced massive development.
Twisted_Sifter
January 15th, 2010 at 11:34 pmthanks for the background info evan! please drop by again
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February 1st, 2010 at 8:58 am[...] If you’re on Twitter or Facebook, let’s connect! If you enjoyed this article, the Sifter highly recommends: The Most Expensive Property in Brooklyn, New York [...]
Dave Kliman
February 4th, 2010 at 4:52 amI had the key to that apartment from 1998 to 1999, before any of these renovations were done. At the time, the never sold apartment was on the market for $4M. It had gone as high as $35M and is now down to $25M. As far as I know, it has never been occupied. I took a lot of photos of the skyline from that apartment, as well as many other apartments, for my NYC Mosaic project, in which I took thousands of photos of NY and used them to make photomosaics. Of all the places I got to go in the city, including over 250 Roofs, the 16th floor of the clocktower building has, in my opinion, the best view of any I have ever been in.
Click my link to see a photo I took from the apartment. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kliman/75964073/
The Most Expensive Property In Brooklyn, NY « sarahs envelope.
February 6th, 2010 at 10:30 pm[...] TwistedSifter. [...]
@larrybrauner
February 19th, 2010 at 3:59 pmI assume they're selling, because the ticking of the clocks is unbearable.
JHG
February 19th, 2010 at 9:46 pmLooks pretty nice, however the price is somehow a bit overdone for the place. Unique but value equation is not correct!
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patmos
May 7th, 2010 at 12:12 pmmassively overpriced,but an interesting property, and what a rubbish kitchen for 25 million!
Twisted_Sifter
May 7th, 2010 at 1:24 pmhaha that's a great observation patmos. the kitchen is rather bunk for that price! thanks for dropping by!
Stay classy, Brooklyn. - Robot Libre!
May 26th, 2010 at 1:32 am[...] This isn’t where I originally saw it but there’s tons of details I’m not going to copy paste (plus more photos!) at TwistedSifter [...]
Julia
June 21st, 2010 at 3:57 amWasn't this where 9 1/2 Weeks was filmed?
bathroom tiles
July 12th, 2010 at 11:13 amI adore the clock windows. It's ridiculous to pay so much money for such a space, but I'd totally try to make a clock window happen if I owned a home.
Kayla Shand
August 13th, 2010 at 5:36 amFUCKING AWESOME FUCKING CUM IN MY PANTS PLACE FUCK I WANT TO FUCK EVERYWHERE IN THAT HOUSE EVEN OUTSIDE THE CLOCK ON THE HANDS