The home of the late Broadway theater magnate James Nederlander is heading to the auction block later this month.
Nederlander died in 2016 after a storied career in Broadway productions that earned him 10 Tony Awards and dozens of nominations. His company, the Nederlander Organization, owns a trove of nine playhouses, including the Minskoff Theater, the Gershwin Theater and the eponymous Nederlander Theater, all of which have been closed for months.
Now, part of his estate, which includes the entire 10th floor of 838 Fifth Ave. in Lenox Hill, is up for sale.
The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom penthouse also includes four fireplaces and massive windows overlooking Central Park and the West Side. There’s even a one-bed, one-bath apartment for staff in the building.
Nederlander purchased the unit for $13.5 million in 2006 with his second wife, Charlene, who lived there until she died in 2019. The couple used it mostly as a pied-a-terre when visiting the city.
It was first relisted on StreetEasy in October 2019 for $27.5 million by Douglas Elliman, but after more than a year on the market, it’s going to auction on Feb. 19, and bids could start at $0 with no reserve, according to Platinum Luxury Auctions, the broker on the apartment.
That means the apartment will sell to the highest bidder, regardless of how low the bid is. The auction will be held in the apartment itself, with the option to tune in and bid virtually.
As for the theater company, it’s now led by Nederlander’s son James L. Nederlander, who himself has won 11 Tony Awards. The business has been around since 1912, when David Nederlander purchased a 99-year lease on the Detroit Opera House. In 1964 his son James went to New York City and bought the Palace Theatre on Broadway.
The Nederlanders are the second-largest owners and operators of theaters in the city, after the Shubert Organization. They own 25 theaters across the country. In March, under an executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, all theaters were shut because of the pandemic, and they have been closed since then.
Early last year theaters and producers scrambled to give refunds to those who had purchased advanced tickets. The closures have been extended four times: June 7, Sept. 6, Jan. 3 and now until May 30.
Experts have speculated that theaters, which have suffered since the pandemic with ticket sales falling to zero, could start to change hands in the coming months, although it’s unclear whether Nederlander is considering a sell-off of any of its iconic properties.
Representatives for Nederlander did not respond to requests for comment.
SOURCE: Section Page News – Crain’s New York Business – Read entire story here.