Steve Madden Lists UES Townhouse; Maurice Sendak Co-op Hits the Market

Steve Madden: Steve Madden, the footwear giant, and his wife, Wendy Ballew, have just listed their luxurious Italianate style townhouse for $9 million. The townhouse, which is located at 175 East 73rd Street, originally consisted of three separate units. The couple purchased the first apartment in 2006 for $3.6 million, the second in 2009 for $2.2 million, and the third only a few months ago for $1.9 million. Strangely enough, right after the couple finishes consolidating the three apartments into the house of their desires, it goes right back on the market. Was the energy not right for Steve? Or was this the plan from the very beginning? Whatever the real story, this partially but decently renovated townhouse has a great location and a surprisingly interesting history—the 20-foot-wide house was built in 1960 and used to be a little smithy for horseshoes. The building has 6040 square feet on four floors and just recently received a fresh coat of beige paint to match its Italianate style.

Maurice Sendak: Sixty-two streets and three avenues away, another piece of celebrity real estate has also been listed. This time, the story has nothing to do with shoes, horses, or design, but with children’s books. The co-op belonging to the recently deceased children’s book author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, has been placed on the market with a price tag of $3.15 million. The building, built in 1929, is located at 40 Fifth Avenue and has five rooms, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. While it’s a decent apartment with a cozy fireplace in the living room, it just doesn’t have that “wow” factor. Still, it’s in a great location, a few short blocks away from Washington Square Park. Although Maurice Sendak resided most of the time in Connecticut, this is the New York City apartment he used as his pied-à-terre. Scott Harris at Brown Harris Stevens is the agent for the listing.