This $25 Million Flatiron Penthouse Features a Gold Dome

(Bloomberg) — Greg Carr says he knew he had to buy the penthouse at 170 Fifth Ave. when it first came up for sale in 2001. The midrise prewar building had been converted into condos for the first time, and he liked the downtown location across from the Flatiron Building.
“I love architecture, and I love New York City, and I thought to myself, ‘OK, there’s a building with a 40-foot gold dome on Fifth Avenue—is it going to get any better than that?’” says Carr, speaking exclusively to Bloomberg about the listing.
Carr, the co-founder of Boston Technology and chair of early internet service provider Prodigy, bought the apartment for $7 million. “I’ve had nearly 25 years in one of the most iconic places in New York,” he says. Now he’s listed the penthouse with Lawrence Treglia and Claire Groome of Sotheby’s International Realty for $25 million. For that, a buyer gets 5,000 square feet in a duplex loft, with four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms and exclusive roof access with 360-degree views of Manhattan. 
Carr says he’s selling because he now splits his time between Africa, where he’s spent more than $100 million of his personal fortune to protect the wildlife of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, and a home base in Sun Valley, Idaho. Having the third home in New York doesn’t make sense for him anymore. He says all of the sale proceeds will go to his philanthropic projects in Africa.
“I work in Africa, and I go home for holidays in Idaho, so it wasn’t leaving a lot of time for New York,” Carr says. 
Carr used the house to throw parties: book launches for friends, events for nonprofit groups such as the Human Rights Watch, political fundraisers with 50 attendees or more. “The magic of the house, for me, right in the dead center of Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 22nd, is that you can get intellectuals, artists, human rights activists, authors and movie stars here for meaningful events.”
He says one memorable fundraiser for a political candidate even had a Hollywood legend show up. “I danced with Lauren Bacall under my gold dome.” Carr says she was spry at 80.
Flatiron has been home to notable wealthy residents. Jeff Bezos bought multiple properties a few blocks away from Carr’s condo. And Rupert Murdoch found a buyer for his nearby penthouse for $29 million, according to the Real Deal in October. Carr says he’s noticed the neighborhood becoming more popular in recent years.
What’s Inside
The apartment is spread over the top two floors of the beaux arts Sohmer Piano building, designed by Robert Maynicke, who the New York Times called the “pioneer of modern loft buildings.” The building, which has large arched windows and intricate stonework, was built in 1897. 
The building’s elevators stop directly on both the 12th and 13th floors. The 12th has all four bedrooms, including the corner primary suite. He says his favorite part of the room is being able to wake up and see straight out to the Empire State Building. The en suite bath has a freestanding soaking tub facing the windows and a separate rain shower. 
A circular limestone staircase with ornate black and gold railings leads up to the 13th floor, which is dedicated to entertaining. The cupola inside the gold dome is there, alongside an airy living room, dining room and kitchen. “The light is incredible on that upper floor,” Carr says, pointing out the views through the oversize skylights. “There’s gargoyles on the Flatiron building. Some people probably don’t even know they’re there, because they’re up so high, but you can see them from my windows.”
There’s also an additional room on the 13th floor that Carr has used as a home gym and office, but he says it could be easily repurposed into another bedroom, as it has an en suite bath.
As to who he thinks is going to purchase the condo, Carr says it’s certainly large enough to be a family home, but he thinks it’s a great fit for someone who has an active social life who’s keen to throw big parties like he did. “You’re living up in a gold dome above Fifth Avenue with massive windows—it doesn’t seem like something for someone who’s shy.”
But Carr is ready to move on. “If life is a three-act play, that was act two for me, and it was a magnificent act. I loved that place and got a lot of use out of it.” 
(Updates with notable Flatiron sales in eighth paragraph. A previous update corrected the number of bathrooms in third paragraph.)
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