Madonna hits the street on the Upper East Side yesterday during her house-hunting tour. Among the homes that she toured with brokers were these opulent town houses.
The Material Mom is said to have her eye on this 14,700- square-foot East 62nd Street mansion, which features grand entertaining rooms with double-height ceilings, and marble floors, staircases and fireplaces.
Madonna wants to make New York her playground again!
With handlers and brokers in tow, the Material Mom toured four pricey town houses on the Upper East Side yesterday, and is said to have fallen for a Gilded Age mansion on East 62nd Street – with a $35 million price tag.
“She’s seriously looking to buy,” a source said. “She’s actually flown here to concentrate on finding a New York home where she’ll spend a good deal of time – and perhaps even send her children to school here.”
“Living in the English countryside must be getting a bit monotonous for her.”
“She wants big and grand,” said another real-estate broker familiar with her search. “She’s looking for dramatic ceiling heights, large entertaining spaces and flat-out opulence.”
The kabbalah queen spent the majority of her time here going through the Beaux Arts-style six-level elevatored limestone home with 14,700 square feet of interior space that includes seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, three kitchens, separate servants quarters, a gym with a sauna, billiards room and a garden.
The home features grand entertaining rooms with double-height ceilings, and marble floors, staircases and fireplaces.
For her growing family, one floor in the mansion features two children’s bedrooms, a playroom, a kitchen, and a nanny’s bedroom.
The master bedroom has its own floor with a study, two separate bathrooms and a large dressing room.
The 103-year-old residence is owned by noted architect Emilio Ambasz, who bought the property in 1992 for $3.2 million, according to public records.
Ambasz has had the house on and off the market for the past six years at various prices.
Sources say the 50-year-old singer visited other town houses on East 67th Street, East 69th Street, and East 96th Street – all of which were located between Madison and Fifth avenues.
“She’s looking for a bigger place where she won’t have to go before a co-op board,” said one real-estate source with knowledge of the hunt.
Madonna has already had her fill of persnickety co-op boards. In 1985, the board of the SanRemo on Central Park West refused to let the then-single 26-year-old entertainer buy a three-bedroom apartment for $1.2 million.
The co-op board did not give any reason for the rejection. She appeared before the board in a demure black dress, but Diane Keaton was reportedly the only member of the board who voted to approve her.
Real-estate agents cited the building’s desire for privacy as the principal reason for her rebuff. Issues of Penthouse and Playboy at the time had featured her in nude layouts.
She eventually bought a 6,000-square-foot duplex at 41 Central Park West, with its own beauty parlor and steam room, in the less glam Harperley Hall.
She also has homes in London – where she officially resides with her husband, Guy Ritchie, and three kids – and another mansion in Los Angeles, which she bought from Keaton.
Reports say she has been in negotiations to sell the L.A. mansion to British soccer star David Beckham and his singer wife, ex-Spice Girl Victoria.
Wendy Maitland of the Corcoran Group was identified through photos as the broker, leading Madonna around to the various locations. Calls to her office were not returned.
Sources said another contender is a $15 million, six-story limestone town house in the Carnegie Hill area. The 20,000-square-foot home was built in 1916 by Philadelphia heiress Lucy Drexel Dahlgren, who sold it to jeweler Pierre Cartier in the 1920s.
Madonna was also spotted last month looking at a sprawling residence on Fifth Avenue.
One place she isn’t looking to turn into a home is the New York Kabbalah Center at 155 E. 48th St., which is for sale for $42 million.
The fully renovated, five-story, extra-wide limestone building between Lexington and Third avenues includes three three-bedroom apartments, two elevators, a professional chef’s kitchen, two spas, a formal dining room, a laundry room, offices, a rooftop children’s play area and, oh, a synagogue on the second floor.
Public records show the kabbalists bought the building in 1994 for $3.25 million, and it was subsequently given a major facelift with funding that reportedly came from its well-heeled following that has included Madonna (who purchased the London town house to be closer to her fellow followers), Demi Moore, Donna Karan, Elizabeth Taylor and head-shaving rehabber Britney Spears.
“I didn’t hear anything from her, but it wouldn’t surprise me,” said Madonna’s publicist, Liz Rosenberg, who noted that her family is growing. “Hopefully, I’ll have a new neighbor. I’d be very happy.”