Attic-Turned-Penthouse at Prestigious Manhattan Co-Op Hits Market for $25M

A triplex penthouse transformed from an attic at Hampshire House, a prestigious Manhattan building right across from the south entrance of Central Park, has hit the market for $25 million.

The penthouse was previously marketed by Noble Black and Roger Erickson of Douglas Elliman as a whisper listing in February. The agents listed the property publicly Saturday.

"This is a unique opportunity to own an iconic piece of Manhattan real estate," Mr. Black said. "The discerning buyer will have a really large penthouse with beautiful views and outdoor terraces."

The attic, which stores the cooperative building’s mechanical system, has been approved to be combined with the 37th-floor apartment with a construction-ready design by SPAN Architecture, according to the listing.

The design calls 8,525 square feet of interior space, including five bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, a grand salon, formal living and dining rooms and an eat-in kitchen.

"The penthouse features soaring ceilings up to 14 feet, with unobstructed views of the whole Central Park and all the way to North Manhattan, as well as Midtown skylines," Mr. Black said.

The outdoor living and entertaining space spans 1,125 square feet, including a private, 425-square-foot terrace facing Central Park.

The penthouse will feature a large private terrace facing Central Park. Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

Owner Aron Katz bought the 37th-floor apartment for $4 million in 2015, property records show.

"We got lucky," Mr. Katz told The New York Post. "The co-op board was sophisticated and understood the value of design, and the Department of Buildings was also on board."

Mr. Katz wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Hampshire House, notable for its steeply pitched copper roof with two tall chimneys, has a full-time doorman and concierge, a fitness center, a spa and valet parking service.

Construction of the building began in 1931 during the Great Depression, but stopped six months later as the developer ran out of money. It was finally completed in 1941 as a rental and converted into a cooperative in 1949.

The building is home to many top hedge fund managers and lawyers. Former celebrity residents in the building include the supreme tenor Luciano Pavarotti, Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo and John Michael Kennedy, a civil rights lawyer who represented Ivana Trump in her divorce from Donald Trump in the early 1990s, according to property records and published reports.