adminIt was highly coveted by her fellow A-listers due to its high level of privacy. But Cameron Diaz has beat off competition from the likes of Blake Lively to secure a US$9 million dream home in New York. The “Bad Teacher” actress splashed out on a 3 022 sq ft luxury flat in the Walker Tower building in the upmarket Chelsea neighbourhood in Manhattan.
The apartment boasts three bedrooms, 3,5 bathrooms and a home automation system complete with iPad dock.
According to TMZ, Cameron will also have to spend around US$5 000 a month in maintenance and real estate tax on her property.
Her neighbours in the well-heeled area will include the likes of Harrison Ford, Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman.
And Cameron beat off a host of big names attracted to the privacy of the apartment — which due to its 18 inch walls would give them the kind of privacy they can only dream of.
The 1929 Art Deco building has also had viewings from Ryan Seacrest and Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio for its ultra luxury apartments.
The floors are also so robust that they can bear 100lb per square foot — meaning the downstairs neighbours will never have a clue what you’re doing.
The Walker Tower was built in 1929 for the New York Telephone Company which used it as a giant call centre and intended its imposing structure to assert the firm’s corporate largesse.
Located in West 18th Street, it wasn’t until 2007 when New York-based JDS Development and Property Markets Group saw the potential and bought it off Verizon, which was using it as an office.
JDS and Property Markets Group paid a mere US$27 million for the property but spent another US$200 million taking out the dull cubicles — and turning them into 50 luxury apartments with 14ft high ceilings.
Now the building’s heavy steel framed structure and concrete casing have drawn an exclusive clientele who are considering paying a premium price for their privacy.
JDS’ Michael Stern told the New York Daily News: “You could basically drive a bulldozer in your apartment and your neighbour wouldn’t hear or feel it.
“I knew we had something that no one in New York had — an absurdly solid building.’
Speaking of the robust design, he added: “If you tried to build a structure like that today, you’d go bankrupt.”
The Walker Tower has 50 units, more than half of which have already been sold even though a two bedroom apartment costs as much as US$13 million.
The have giant foyers, master bedrooms bigger than some one-bedroom apartments, two sinks and a steam shower big enough to fit half a dozen people. The tilt-and-turn windows are more than nine feet tall and the setbacks can be turned into terraces which overlook the West Village and Tribeca.
For those who want the 360 degree view of the city they need only go onto the roof deck, or head out to their private terraces. — Daily Mail.
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