Historic Limestone Mansion in Contract in Lenox Hill | Mt Kisco Real Estate

The current owner of this French-inspired limestone mansion at 58 East 66th Street, who also happens to be the wife of developer Zach Vella, bought it for $14.5 million in 2008, proceeded to gut the place, stripping it of its kitchen, bathrooms, etc., and then put it back on the market. That is not a recommended house-flipping strategy, but it seems to have worked. The house, which was most recently listed for $20 million, is now in contract, the Observer reports. The real estate agent who brokered the deal estimates that it needs between $3 million and $6 million of work.
But perhaps more interesting than this house's future is its past. Daytonian in Manhattan wrote an essay last year about the 1909 house, which was built for Arthur Sachs, of the investment firm Goldman Sachs. And he may not even be the most interesting owner in its century-long history. Let's run down the former inhabitants of 55 East 66th Street, which include a mafia doctor and a man who was arrested for flirting too much.

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