Rare NYC penthouse with a golden dome asks $13.5M

You can now name a dome your property.

A Chelsea penthouse now available on the market for $13.5 million is providing home hunters one thing fairly uncommon: one in every of simply three residential residences in all of New York City — a gold-coated dome perched excessive above Sixth Avenue, The Post has realized.

Set atop the landmarked O’Neill Building at 665 Sixth Ave., the duplex spans roughly 4,800 sq. ft, with an extra 2,500-plus sq. ft of personal outside area — a mixture that is almost as scarce because the dome itself.

Inside, the house is anchored by a 53-foot-long nice room lined with greater than 220 ft of home windows and bathed in southern and jap mild.

But it is the dome — a hovering, round construction rising almost 43 ft — that steals the present.

“The building was constructed in 1887 and it was a ladies’ mill, a department store,” itemizing dealer Peter Ocean, of Serhant, instructed The Post. “And so when they built this, they had the two cupolas.”

Today, that historic characteristic has been reimagined as a livable area, at the moment arrange as a house workplace however versatile sufficient to function a media room, a lounge or a non-public retreat.

“It’s a decent room that you can sort of imagine turning it into doing whatever you want,” Ocean mentioned. “It’s big enough for that.”

“There are only three apartments in the city, including this [penthouse] which have cupolas, and this one is the most recognizable of them all,” Ocean mentioned.

The shortage extends properly past New York.

“There’s literally only a handful in America,” he added. “I thought it was below five.”

The O’Neill Building dates again to 1887, when it served as a flagship dry items emporium catering to well-heeled buyers alongside Sixth Avenue’s Ladies’ Mile. Its signature domes initially functioned as architectural billboards — gleaming markers of status designed to attract consideration from blocks away, together with riders on the now-defunct elevated prepare line that when ran previous its outsized show home windows.

Those domes disappeared within the early twentieth century, solely to be painstakingly reconstructed throughout a 2005 condominium conversion.

With authentic plans misplaced, architects relied on archival imagery to recreate the constructions, ending them in gold leaf whereas adapting them for contemporary residential use.

Inside the penthouse, the format is at the moment configured as a three-bedroom, though it was designed to accommodate 4. The higher degree is dedicated to a main suite with a spa-style tub, twin dressing rooms and direct entry to one in every of three terraces that wrap the residence.

The kitchen, outfitted with high-end home equipment and a butler’s pantry, is geared towards entertaining — one thing the house does notably properly due to its expansive outside footprint.

“I challenge anyone to find an apartment that has 2,500 square feet of outdoor space. I mean, it’s insane,” Ocean mentioned.

The terraces provide a uncommon degree of privateness for the neighborhood, surrounded largely by industrial buildings that cool down after enterprise hours, whereas additionally offering ample room for large-scale gatherings. But it additionally provides essentially the most idyllic view of the dome-like construction itself.

“You are able to host,150, 200 people there easily,” he added.

The present proprietor, who has held the penthouse since 2008, is now trying to downsize after years within the sprawling area.

“The house is just so large for one person,” Ocean mentioned, noting that the proprietor’s kids have since moved out. “I think she’s come to a point now where she has decided… I want something a little bit smaller.”

As for the subsequent purchaser, the property’s attraction cuts throughout classes — from households in search of townhouse-scale dwelling in a full-service constructing to creatives or social patrons drawn to its one-of-a-kind design.

“It is going to be someone who is just in love with outdoor space, and that sort of home feel,” Ocean mentioned. “And then we have sort of the creatives… just looking for really, really cool space.”

Ultimately, the itemizing hinges on a mixture that is troublesome to copy — historic pedigree, large outside dwelling and a skyline-defining architectural characteristic.

“It’s got that double rarity,” Ocean mentioned. “It’ll be hard for anyone to find something like this.”