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    Sidney Poitier’s Former Fifth Avenue Duplex Just Listed for $11.5 Million

    More than 20 years after Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier scooped up an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the park-view duplex residence has popped back up for sale.

    On the market for $11.5 million with Corcoran’s Chris Kann, Poitier and his wife, Joanna, paid just $2.5 million for the Fifth Avenue pad back in 1994. According to New York Magazine, Poitier bought the apartment so they could be closer to their daughters, who were attending NYU at the time. After graduation, the family decided to relocate to Los Angeles, and Poitier sold the home in 2001 for $5 million to an art-collecting couple who already lived in the building. Now that the owners have passed, the unit is being offered by their estate.

    The apartment sits just above the treeline with open views over Central Park.

    Sonia Paulino Love/MW Studio

    Poitier’s former pre-war co-op is positioned right across from Central Park and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Altogether, the spacious abode features five bedrooms and seven bathrooms spread across its two floors. Interestingly, it’s the only home in the building with six rooms, not to mention three bathrooms, that face the park.

    The home itself is accessed via a semi-private elevator that opens to a small foyer and an ample stair gallery. Just inside, a massive double living room that is roughly 25 feet square with a charming wood-burning fireplace, a wet bar, and sweeping skyline views thanks to three oversized single-pane picture windows. The nearby formal dining room leads to a windowed eat-in chef’s kitchen configured around a large central island. Additionally, this level holds two bedroom suites and a sculptural staircase that curls up to the second floor.

    The primary suite includes two walk-in closets and a dressing room.

    Sonia Paulino Love/MW Studio

    Upstairs, the spacious primary bedroom is complete with two huge walk-in closets, a dressing room with additional closet space, a fireplace, and a roomy bath. Two more en suite bedrooms are joined by a wood-paneled library that doubles as a media room and a service wing with a large laundry room, a home office, a bathroom, and a tiny staff bedroom easily converted to a gym or meditation space.

    The landmarked building at 1158 Fifth Avenue was originally designed by architects Howard Krane and Kenneth Franzheim in 1924. The French Renaissance-style structure in Manhattan’s Carnegie Hill sports a beautiful lobby staffed by full-time doormen and concierges, a fitness center, and bicycle storage.

    Click here to see more photos of the Fifth Avenue cooperative. 

    Sonia Paulino Love/MW Studio

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    Exclusive: The Founder of Starz Lists His Manhattan Apartment for $10 Million

    John J. Sie, the founder and former CEO of Starz Entertainment Group, is ready to turn the channel on his Manhattan home, hoisting his elegantly detailed pre-war cooperative apartment back onto the market for just shy of $10 million. Records show the apartment was first listed in 2022 for $12 million. The stately residence, built in 1937, is nestled on the 30th floor of Hampshire House at 150 Central Park South.

    Sie, who retired from his CEO position in 2005, previously acted as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Showtime. Since stepping down from Starz, he and his wife Anna have turned their focus to philanthropy. Together, the couple has collectively shelled out $34 million to establish the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the University of Colorado in honor of their granddaughter. 

    The entrance gallery is embellished with polished marble floors and ornate crown moldings.

    Oleg Davidoff for Corcoran

    The 3,000-square-foot spread comprises three bedrooms and three bathrooms. A private elevator landing leads to an expansive entrance gallery decked out with custom marble floors, delicate light fixtures, and ornate crown moldings. Another of the standout spaces, a wood-paneled wet bar with a picture window overlooking the entirety of Central Park, is at the far end of the foyer and perfectly positioned for entertaining between the living and dining rooms.

    The living room has a carved marble fireplace and a Juliet balcony that juts out over the city, while the dining room, decked out with leaf-patterned crown molding and milk chocolate-colored high-shine lacquer walls, offers up media mogul-worthy park and skyline views. From here, a hidden door opens to the well-equipped galley kitchen, a windowless space with floral wallpaper, high-quality appliances, and black granite counters. 

    A hallway lined with built-in bookshelves leads to the home’s three bedrooms. One of the bedrooms has been outfitted as a library, with beautifully paneled walls and built-in cabinetry, and the primary suite is no less luxe, with a walk-in closet lined with custom wood cabinets and a marble en suite bath with a jacuzzi tub. 

    The formal dining room offers up views bird’s eye views over all of Central Park.

    Oleg Davidoff for Corcoran

    “With its blend of old-world charm and modern comforts, this exceptional residence offers a truly unparalleled living experience amidst the captivating backdrop of Central Park and the city skyline,” notes the listing, which is jointly handled by Catherine Juracich, Thomas Ventura, and Karena Cameron at Corcoran. 

    Equidistant between Berdorf Goodman’s and Columbus Circle and capped by a distinctive copper roof, The Hampshire House was originally built as a posh residential hotel. The lavishly appointed interior spaces were done up by the legendary decorator Dorothy Draper, who, according to Architectural Digest, eventually bought a duplex in the building. Among the building’s many other notable residents and guests are Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Nabokov, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe.

    Click here for more photos of John J. Sie’s New York City apartment.

    Oleg Davidoff for Corcoran

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

    Read More More