An Art Collector’s Manhattan Mansion Sells for $41 Million
By E.B. Solomont May 5, 2023 4:13 pm ET A Manhattan townhouse tied to art collector David Mugrabi has sold for $41 million, records show. The most recent asking price was $45 million. The buyer was represented by Roberto Cabrera of Brown Harris Stevens, who declined to identify his client but said he is a European art collector. “He literally felt this house was a piece of art,” Mr. Cabrera said. An entity tied to Mr. Mugrabi purchased the Upper East Side home for $15 million in 2013, records show. The house, which was a flashpoint in his contested divorce from ex-wife Libbie Mugrabi, hit the market for $52 million in 2021, according to the listings website StreetEasy.
A Manhattan townhouse tied to art collector David Mugrabi has sold for $41 million, records show.
The most recent asking price was $45 million. The buyer was represented by Roberto Cabrera of Brown Harris Stevens, who declined to identify his client but said he is a European art collector. “He literally felt this house was a piece of art,” Mr. Cabrera said.
An entity tied to Mr. Mugrabi purchased the Upper East Side home for $15 million in 2013, records show. The house, which was a flashpoint in his contested divorce from ex-wife Libbie Mugrabi, hit the market for $52 million in 2021, according to the listings website StreetEasy.
An attorney for Mr. Mugrabi declined to comment. Ms. Mugrabi didn’t comment.
In court filings related to the divorce, Ms. Mugrabi said the couple spent several years and tens of millions of dollars gut-renovating the home.
Libbie and David Mugrabi in 2018.
Photo: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
The mansion measures about 12,000 square feet over seven floors, according to marketing materials. The house has four bedrooms, including a primary suite that spans the third floor, and a leather-paneled elevator. The living room is 34 feet long with a stone fireplace, wet bar and terrace. On the fifth floor, there is a guest suite with a kitchenette and study. In addition to a garden, the house has a rooftop terrace with views of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Adam Modlin of the Modlin Group had the listing.
Mr. Mugrabi, with his father Jose Mugrabi and brother Alberto Mugrabi, are major collectors of Andy Warhols and own some 800 pieces of the artist’s work.
Last year, the Manhattan townhouse market saw a string of major deals in the $50 million range. In April, two adjoining Gilded-Age townhouses located across the street from the Museum of Modern Art came on the market for $63 million.
Manhattan’s luxury market has slowed since last year, and the number of luxury sales dropped 37.5% during the first quarter from 2022’s first quarter, according to real-estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The median luxury sale price is down 12.8% year-over-year.
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