You’d figure that for $85 million, they wouldn’t be “fixer-uppers.”
But it appears that the two attached, landmark townhouses Mayor Bloomberg bought for that combined price on the Upper East Side will need extensive renovations and upgrades before they can house his massive, future philanthropy effort, the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Last year, the deep-pocketed politico shelled out $45 million for one of the buildings, a mansion on East 78th Street between Fifth and Madison.
The astronomical price on the six-story structure set a record for a residential property, which, not so coincidentally, sits on what has been deemed New York’s priciest block.
The historic, 18,000- square-foot, Beaux Arts townhouse of orange and yellow brick with limestone features dates to 1900.
It is described as having “soaring” ceilings, French windows and a dramatic, five-story staircase that rises to an octagonal, cathedral skylight.
The townhouse was designed by Stanford White and recently served as a corporate home for the Limited apparel retailer.
Still, sources say, significant work must be done to wire the house for the high-end gadgets required by the techno-savvy mayor.
Bloomberg’s newly bought building next door, meanwhile, may need even more work.
Reportedly purchased by the mayor for $40 million, the 10,821-square-footer has been home for decades to the James Graham & Sons art gallery and has an industrial elevator.
It also sports a potentially useless stairwell down the center of the space.
The building does have curb appeal, however, marked by an Alexander Calder terrazzo sidewalk.
With enough work, both sites would combine to provide a stellar headquarters for the billionaire Bloomberg’s foundation.
The ultra-generous mayor has already given away hundreds of millions of dollars to charity and pet causes. Last year, he donated $125 million to the anti-smoking campaign.
And money is apparently no object when it comes to making sure the staffers giving away his dough have appropriately posh digs.
The second space hadn’t even been on the market, but the mayor made such a spectacular financial offer that its owners couldn’t refuse.
The mayor will be keeping a close eye on his new properties. He lives only a block away.