On the Upper West Side, the 12,000-square-foot marble townhouse known as the Schinasi Mansion has 12 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. Architect William Tuthill, who designed Carnegie Hall, built the home in 1909 for Turkish tobacco baron Morris Schinasi. The French Renaissance-style home has Tiffany stained-glass windows, woodworking throughout and a secret tunnel in the basement, says listing agent Tod Mercy of the Corcoran Group in New York. It includes 3,400 square feet of outdoor space. Mr. Mercy says the home has a lot of character but "needs a lot of work."
Mr. Mercy says the buyer is a New York businessman who used to live abroad. He says the sellers are the family of Columbia law professor Hans Smit, who bought the property in 1979 for $325,000 and turned it into a single-family residence. Mr. Smit bought the property from Columbia University, which had used it as a day-care center. Before Columbia owned the property, the home was the base for the Semple School for Girls.
The property originally hit the market in 2006 for $31 million; it was reduced to $30 million in 2007, $24.5 million in 2009 and then $20 million in 2011. Later in 2011 it was lowered again, to $15 million, and then to $13.5 million this year. Four months ago, Mr. Mercy says the market began to heat up and several cash offers started coming in. The home closed earlier this month; Mr. Mercy says he didn't let a bidding war break out and that the sellers took the "best and final offer."
Mr. Mercy says the Smit family put the home on the market because they didn't need the large mansion and weren't up for undertaking a major restoration.
—Alyssa Abkowitz'Dexter' Star Michael C. Hall Lists L.A. Compound for $2.35 Million
Michael C. Hall, star of the television show "Dexter," has put his compound in Los Angeles on the market for $2.35 million, according to his agent, Josh Myler of the Agency in Beverly Hills.
Lauren Schuker Blum takes a look at this week's Private Properties, including a New York mansion, a bungalow belonging to Michael C. Hall and the Pennsylvania home of an Olympic figure skater. Photo: Don Lewis.
The roughly 4,600-square-foot, Spanish Hacienda-style house was built in 1926 at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Hollywood Hills. It has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home has a courtyard garden off the living room as well as a library, media room, separate den off the kitchen, formal dining room and wine room.
An additional patio and garden area connect the house to a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest home. There is also a three-car garage.
British actor Ronald Colman, who was a Hollywood star in the 1930s and 1940s, was among the first owners of the home; the property is known as the Ronald Colman Estate.
Mr. Hall bought the home last year for $1.95 million, according to public records. He landscaped much of the 0.3-acre property and renovated some of the interiors as well. Mr. Hall is selling because he recently bought another house in Los Angeles, says Mr. Myler. In a statement through his agent, Mr. Hall praised the estate's red brick floors, old-Hollywood feel and "understated, earthy elegance."
Mr. Myler shares the listing with Jeff Kohl, also of the Agency.
—Lauren Schuker BlumFigure Skater Oksana Baiul Lists Pennsylvania Home for $875,000
Professional figure skater Oksana Baiul has listed her country home in New Hope, Pa., for $875,000.
The more than 4,000-square-foot Colonial home on 2 acres has five bedrooms, 3½ baths and two fireplaces. There is a two-story foyer, a master bedroom with a sitting room, a formal dining room with gold-colored crown molding and a recently refurbished deck that spans the length of the home. A lower level of 2,048 square feet has a second kitchen and could become an au-pair suite or entertaining space. The third-floor level has a finished loft, and there is another loft over the solarium.
The property includes bamboo plantings that Ms. Baiul trained to grow as a privacy fence, says listing agent Melanie Stecura of Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty in Philadelphia. She says Ms. Baiul completely redid the landscaping and gave the home a "cosmetic face-lift" with ornate details. There is also room to build a pool in the backyard, which is bordered by preserved land, Ms. Stecura says.
Ms. Baiul bought the property in February 2012 for $580,000, according to public records. Ms. Stecura says Ms. Baiul renovated most of the home and decided to list the property now because the market has improved significantly. According to people familiar with Ms. Baiul's career, she is in the final stages of negotiating a live-entertainment production on ice in Las Vegas and Macau, which will launch in 2014.
Ms. Baiul has become a real-estate investor in recent years, according to people familiar with her business decisions. Last year, she sold her Cliffside Park, N.J., home for $705,000, after putting it on the market for $799,000, according to public records. She bought it for $465,000 in 1998, records show. She also owns properties in the Ukrainian cities of Odessa and Kiev, and in Venice.
Ms. Stecura shares the listing with Donald Pearson of Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty in New Hope, Pa.
—A.A.Rupert Murdoch Closes on His Purchase
of L.A. Estate and Winery for $28.8 Million
News Corp NWSA +0.06% . Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch closed Tuesday on the purchase of an estate and winery called Moraga Vineyards in Los Angeles's Bel Air neighborhood for $28.8 million, according to listing agent Jim Kline of Surterre Properties in Newport Beach, Calif. The property was listed for $29.5 million in February.
The 13-acre property has a 7,500-square-foot home with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, an octagonal dressing room and maid's quarters. A guesthouse across a large lawn has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Hollywood director Victor Fleming, known for "Gone with the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz," built the homes in the 1930s.
The property includes vineyards and a 2,300-square-foot winery that produces about 1,500 cases a year. There are also staff quarters, a tasting room and a wine cave, and about $4 million of wine inventory included in the sale, Mr. Kline says.
According to people familiar with the sale, Mr. Murdoch first learned about the vineyard from an article in The Wall Street Journal. News Corp owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Journal. Mr. Murdoch is also chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox, which until June was part of the same company as News Corp.
Mr. Murdoch went into contract on the property in April and announced the news via Twitter in May. The sale has taken several months to finalize because of a long approval process to obtain liquor licenses, Mr. Kline says.
Mr. Murdoch plans to continue making wine, as sellers Tom and Ruth Jones did, according to people familiar with the sale. "He's excited about learning the winemaking business," Mr. Kline says.
Mr. Kline also co-represented Mr. Murdoch with Delphine Mann of Coldwell Banker Previews International in Beverly Hills. Ms. Mann declined to comment.
—A.A.
