You Could Once Buy CDs Where this $25 Million Penthouse Now Stands
The duplex at 25 Park Row.
Video (may have) killed the radio star, but streaming and iTunes certainly quelled the music superstore. That was a hard pill for Joe and Rachelle Friedman to swallow.
The couple founded J&R Music World and Computer World, downtown New York City institutions that shelled out LPs, MP3s and countless other consumer electronics during their retail reign. But while the franchise long stood as an “unprecedented retailing and social mecca” (per J&R itself) it shuttered in 2014.
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But rather than leave the J&R bones to rot, the Friedmans partnered with L+M Development Partners to start a new chapter. “The J&R experience wasn’t what the world was about anymore,” David Dishy, president of development and acquisitions at L+M Development Partners tells Robb Report. “But the City Hall Park area means a lot to the [Friedman] family. It’s not a business enterprise to them. It sounds cliche, but it’s more a labor of love.”
That works out, as the luxury condominiums at 25 Park Row, on the former site of the stores, have some of the best views in Manhattan. Penthouse 45A, in particular, boasts 6,000 square feet of indoor space at a $25 million price point. Dishy likens the duplex and its double-height living room, with three uninterrupted walls of windows, to a “glass box in the sky.” That kind of transparent frontage means views of the Woolworth Building and the Hudson and East Rivers in either direction.
But perhaps what’s most appealing about this penthouse is its mix of interior and exterior space. Adjacent to the eat-in kitchen is a family room, which opens onto a loggia, complete with both an indoor and outdoor wet bar. Altogether, the duplex houses 1,000 square feet of outdoor space, all seamlessly blended with the interiors. This avoids the “let’s go out to the terrace” turn of phrase, instead creating smaller, more natural moments in the sun. “Throughout the project, we kept asking ourselves: Is this doing right by the Friedman family legacy?” adds Dishy. “We think it does. It’s an incredible way to live.”
The building’s amenities include a yoga and meditation studio, spa room, playroom, swimming pool and fitness center. There’s also plenty of garden and dining terraces in these public areas, should you find yourself in need of a quick change of scenery. The only thing it’s missing, of course, is a music store.
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