New York’s actual property market isn’t any stranger to jaw-dropping listings, however one Greenwich Village townhouse is actually climbing to new heights — boasting what’s believed to be the tallest non-public rock-climbing wall on the planet.
The sprawling, 4,200-square-foot, five-story townhouse at 9 Minetta Lane, simply steps from the Comedy Cellar, is the creation of architect Adam Kushner, an avid rock climber who took his ardour to the subsequent degree by incorporating an 83-foot climbing wall into the house’s design.
Kushner, who has owned the property since 2013, reworked the circa-1925 construction into a contemporary marvel.
The unique façade of the constructing needed to stay intact because of the property’s location in a landmarked space of Greenwich Village.
However when you cross via the door, the house tells a totally totally different story.
“He mainly constructed a complete new constructing inside that landmarked façade,” Diane Wildowsky of Sotheby’s Worldwide Realty advised Realtor.com.
“There may be nothing prefer it wherever within the metropolis, nothing. It’s actually fairly unique.”
The centerpiece of the house, after all, is the colossal rock-climbing wall that soars from the courtyard to the rooftop.
Kushner, who has been climbing for the reason that Eighties, initially envisioned a wall of household historical past that guests would climb, however the concept rapidly developed into one thing way more epic.
“I used to be going to have this wall of household historical past, and also you’d climb it to lastly attain the highest of the home,” Kushner advised Bloomberg. “That morphed right into a mountain climbing wall.”
Now, climbers can scale the clear wall and, upon reaching the pinacle, get pleasure from breathtaking views of Greenwich Village.
“While you get to the very high, you clear the roofline and the bushes and you’ve got a beautiful view of the village,” Wildowsky provides.
The climbing wall is so distinctive that it’s attracted consideration from the rock-climbing neighborhood.
“Totally different rock-climbing publications have mentioned that so far as they know, it’s the tallest privately owned rock-climbing wall on the planet,” Wildowsky mentioned. Whereas the wall steals the present, the home itself is a feat of architectural ingenuity.
Inside, the house is bathed in pure gentle, with retractable glass partitions and a fitness center encased in a glass construction that means that you can work out whereas watching the rain or snow.
“You may be figuring out within the rain, you might be figuring out within the snow, you might be watching the solar come up within the morning,” Wildowsky mentioned. “It’s very good up there and really brilliant.”
Kushner didn’t cease on the climbing wall and fitness center. The property additionally boasts 4 bedrooms, 4½ bogs and a double-height lounge that connects the unique façade to the brand new constructing.
The townhouse additionally contains a roof deck with a plumbed kitchen and barbecue space, together with photo voltaic panels.
For these in search of tranquility amidst the town’s cacophony, vines and latticework encompass the house, creating a sense of being within the woods.
“You’ve bought the thrill of the town outdoors, and whenever you stroll via [the gates], you’re in a wholly totally different setting,” Wildowsky mentioned.
As for the way forward for the townhouse, Kushner admits that his climbing wall doesn’t see as a lot motion as he initially anticipated.
“I had some man knock on my door and say, ‘Hey, can I exploit your wall?’ And I’m, like, ‘Nicely, I don’t actually know you,’” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, for a purchaser who loves the outside however doesn’t need to depart the town, this distinctive house might be the last word escape.
Now listed for a cool $20 million, Kushner and his spouse are able to cross the torch.
“It’s loads of home, and it’s simply my spouse and me,” Kushner mentioned.
After greater than a decade of renovations, he’s wanting ahead to his subsequent chapter — however guarantees his spouse that their subsequent house can be move-in prepared.
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