For the past few years, gallery owner Leo Koenig has been busy creating his own work of art: his West Village home.
The sprawling duplex at 259 West Fourth Street, which he shares with his partner Jennifer Liu, a top executive at fashion brand Kate Spade, consists of three apartments that he painstakingly pieced together in 2018, including one that had previously been combined . The last issue was purchased in 2021.
“It was a labor of love,” said Mr. Koenig, who works in contemporary art and runs a gallery on the Upper East Side. He paid about $3.5 million for the apartments. “Then at least another million in repairs,” he said. “I got to the point where I stopped counting.”
In addition to combining the three spaces through extensive renovations that included new tiled bathrooms and an updated kitchen, he added a four-zone HVAC system and soundproofing. All of these changes and upgrades were recently completed.
And now – you guessed it – it’s time for him to sell. “Our life is moving uphill,” said Mr. Koenig, who also farms in Andes, New York. “Jen works on Park Avenue and I’m on Madison and 75th Street. Her child goes to school on the Upper West Side. And our friends are also moving north.
One of the couple’s requirements for their next home: “We’re looking for apartments that need renovation,” he said. “I love projects.”
The duplex on the corner of Perry Street is now on the market for $5.5 million, with $5,130 monthly maintenance, according to Kane Manera, an agent with the Corcoran Group, who is listing the property with colleague Hilary Landis.
Measuring approximately 2,300 square feet, the apartment is located on the third and fourth floors of the six-story co-op building. It is currently configured with two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, along with an office and library/den. “They could be converted into extra bedrooms,” Mr Manera said.
The main entrance is on the upper level. A foyer opens to a large living room that leads to the office and library, arranged enfilade. There is a second living room at the other end of the apartment, along with a laundry room, a full bathroom, a guest bedroom, and a master bedroom with its own bathroom.
“It twists,” Mr. Koenig said of the layout, “and it just keeps going and going.”
Downstairs there is an open kitchen equipped with granite counters and backsplash, maple wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. And nearby there is a toilet and an extremely large dining room, where a large assortment of Hopi Kachina dolls is on display.
“My special place is the dining room,” Mr. Koenig said. “I sit there at the table every morning, doing my work and drinking my coffee.”
There are whitewashed oak floors, nine foot ceilings and large windows throughout the home. And then there are contemporary artworks, which include bold paintings by Anselm Reyle and Peter Saul and modern sculpture by Donald Judd, as well as furnishings by designers such as Wendell Castle and Jean Royère.
Art and furniture are also available for sale. “If someone loves art as much as home, an additional conversation needs to be had,” Mr. Koenig said.
Mr. Koenig, who grew up in Germany, began making art when he was just 21 years old, setting up a makeshift gallery in an industrial garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He is now one of New York’s top art dealers.
Mr Koenig says he has enjoyed living downtown. “I will miss the vibrancy of the neighborhood and the quiet,” he said. “You have both.”
“It’s the main block that everyone seems to want to be in,” Mr Manera added.