What $20M buys in Northwest Dakota

REAL ESTATE • Townhouses

Most everyone knows of The Dakota, the grand dame of Central Park West that housed, at various points, Warner LeRoy, Joe Namath, and John and Yoko. Sometimes lost in its (literal) shadow, however, are the so-called Dakota Townhouses of West 73rd Street, also built in the late 1800s by the same developer, Edward Clark, using the same architect, Henry Hardenbergh. 

Initially designed for that epoch's affluent New Yorkers, many of the townhouses were carved up into smaller units in the 20th century. As Christopher Gray noted:

However efficient, the smaller units attracted a different crowd. In 1936 the police used the password ‘O.K., this is solid’ at the door to the basement of 57 West 73rd Street and were admitted. They promptly arrested Patrick Devereaux, 23, who was in possession of 100 marijuana cigarettes, which he was selling at nine for a dollar.

Two of the Dakota Townhouses that remain single-family have recently hit the market. One of which, 43 West 73rd St., just completed a major renovation that included the restoration of original details including stained glass. The garden level is suitable, perhaps, for the opening of a CBD store.

→ 43 West 73rd Street (Upper West Side), 5BR/5.2BA townhouse, 7600SF with five fireplaces and 2200SF outdoor space. Asking: $22.5M. Monthly taxes: $5564. Days on market: 56. Listing broker: Steve Cohen, Douglas Elliman. 

→ 51 West 73rd Street (Upper West Side), 7BR/6BA townhouse, 7000SF with back garden. Asking: $16.0M. Monthly taxes: $6355. Days on market: 107. Listing broker: Barrie Mandel, Corcoran.