When an apartment or penthouse isn’t big enough for wealthy New Yorkers, they get creative.
In recent years, a number of them have combined multiple townhouses or building floors to create supersized homes, or Frankenmansions, as New York magazine’s S. Jhoanna Robledo calls them.
To construct these Frankenmansions, some prospective buyers purchase multiple buildings at once, while others approach their neighbors to offer multimillion-dollar buyouts. (In either scenario, they need the city’s subsequent approval before combining properties.)
Check out these nine Manhattan Frankenmansions owned by big names – including Madonna, Sean Parker, and Sarah Jessica Parker – outlined below in red.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Frankenmansion is nearly complete.
Bloomberg has bought five of the six apartment units in the building next to his 7,500-square-foot townhouse over the last two decades. After connecting the floors in 2009, he grew his home to 12,500 square feet, according to The New York Post. The buildings are within steps of Central Park.
A $19.75 million pair of townhouses is currently on the market.
The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, an NYC-based convent of nuns, acquired the townhome on the right in 1948. Four years later, the group bought the one next door and connected them via a doorway on each floor.
Throughout the years, the order has rented some of the complex's 25 bedrooms to other congregations or young women in need. But the Frankenmansion may soon find a new owner - the 15,600-square-foot space went on the market for $19.75 million in 2016, according to the New York Times.
Sarah Jessica Parker lives in a pair of twin townhouses worth $34.5 million.
The star of Sex and the City snatched the two brick townhouses above from the nonprofit United Methodist Women, then fused them together. The organization listed the pair of buildings (which were not connected) for $44 million in 2016, but Parker paid $34.5 million, according to The Real Deal.
The 13,900-square-foot mansion includes nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a 2,100-square-foot private garden, and five floors.
Napster co-founder Sean Parker paid $58.5 million for his mega-mansion.
Sean Parker, the former president of Facebook, owns the three brownstones pictured above. Each building originally contained four apartment units, a grand stairwell, and a rear garden. The interior spaces feature arched doorways and original 19th century fireplaces with marble mantles.
Parker purchased the first building for $20 million in 2010, the second for $16.5 million in May 2016, and the third for a reported $22 million in August 2016. He completed the renovation to connect all three in late 2016.
Once a factory and showroom, this set of buildings will soon be one Frankenmansion.
Billionaire Jon Stryker is the rumored owner of the three brick buildings above, which NYC-based architecture firm Steven Harris Architects is working to turn into one residence. Curbed reported that Styker was probably the buyer of the $32 million set in 2012. The renovation project is still undergoing an approval process from the city.
In their former lives, the buildings were an ice cream factory, a Steinway piano showroom, and a garage. If the plans go through, the property's facade will stretch 41 feet from end to end.
Roman Abramovich is working to connect a trio of townhouses worth $78 million.
In late 2016, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich got approval to connect three townhouses on the Upper East Side, according to 6sqft. He purchased the buildings in 2015 for a reported $78 million.
The facades will be preserved, and the center house will become the mansion's main entrance after construction is complete. The interiors will be completely renovated, and the backyard will feature a private garden.
A pair of limestone townhouses is listed for $75 million.
Owned by the billionaire Safra family, the two limestone townhouses above were listed for sale in 2015 as a trio with the building on the far right. The asking price was $120 million, but the owners are now asking $75 million for just the pair, which will likely be combined by its future owner, according to Curbed.
A total of 25,641 square feet, the soon-to-be Frankenmansion would feature 18 bedrooms.
Musician Michael Feinstein has a $17.9 million brownstone duo.
Feinstein bought the townhome on the left for $3 million in 2004, according to The New York Times. A year later, the one next door went up for sale for $3.825 million, and Feinstein purchased, gutted, and renovated it to connect the two.
The finished product features 18 rooms, twin staircases, seven bathrooms, two bathrooms, eight fireplaces, a 25-foot-wide backyard, and two pagodas, which serve as outdoor living and dining areas. He put the mansion on the market for $17.9 million in 2013, but later decided to keep it.
Madonna's $32 million Frankenmansion has 13 bedrooms.
In 2009, Madonna bought three connected townhouses on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The $32 million mansion features 13 bedrooms, a dance studio, multiple dining rooms, a 3,000-square-foot garden, two garages, an elevator, and a private gym, according to Curbed.
