UPPER EAST SIDE — A landmarked parking garage that had been used by wealthy car owners in the early 20th century is on the market for $42.5 million, according to Brown Harris Stevens, the real estate company brokering the listing.
The five-story Beaux Arts-style building at 177 E. 73rd St. near Third Avenue has the potential to be transformed into a mansion with high ceilings, a 40-foot-wide facade, massive windows and more than 17,000 square feet in total space, according to real estate agent Paula Del Nunzio.
"The building has a stunning Beaux Arts façade of the quality usually found on only the most elegant private residences," she said. "There are only 14 mansions on the Upper East Side that are 40 feet wide as this building is. And they lack the curb cut that this one has."
The curb cut was created to make it easy for cars to get in and out of the building, which was declared a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1980.
The building would be perfect for "anyone who has some magnificent cars and wants a mansion with enough space for many possibilities," Del Nunzio added.
All the floors of the 73rd Street garage have been used to store cars, according to Del Nunzio.
Currently the garage is used by Garage Management Company, which has multiple locations across New York City and in Hoboken.
A spokesman for the company was not immediately available to comment on Thursday.
The garage was constructed in 1906 by Charles Hoppe for the Automobile Realty Company, according to Brown Harris Stevens, the broker. It is the "only carriage house [of the time] that was not built for horses but for wealthy urban auto owners to securely park their automobiles," according to the listing, which was first reported by the New York Post.
Most of the buildings on East 73rd Street were private carriage houses and stables that were converted to garages and chauffeurs' residences in the early 20th century, according to LPC.
Renderings of the inside are available to buyers upon request, according to Brown Harris Stevens said.
The garage was originally listed for $50 million with Sotheby’s International Realty, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2015.
