A Kuwaiti billionaire has finally unloaded his towering Gilded Age mansion in Murray Hill, and the price tag is telling. The James F.D. Lanier Residence at 123 East 35th Street, long held by businessman Bassam Alghanim, has changed hands for roughly $16 million, according to public filings and market listings. The deal ranks as one of Manhattan’s larger single-family townhouse closings in recent days.
Public filings summarized in a local market roundup show the 11,600-square-foot townhouse traded for about $15.9 million. The seller is listed as Peori Corporation, led by Alghanim, and the buyer is an LLC named for the property address, according to The Real Deal. The outlet also notes that Mike Biryla of The Agency had the listing.
Built between 1901 and 1903 by architects Hoppin & Koen, the James F.D. Lanier Residence is a Beaux-Arts landmark known for its carved stonework and Ionic pilasters. Listing records place the home at about 11,600 square feet on a 33-foot-wide lot and note that it was designated a New York City landmark in 1979, per Trulia.
Price history and market context
The property first hit the market in 2022 with a $33 million asking price and resurfaced this spring at $16.5 million before the recorded sale, as reported by The Real Deal. That slide from a lofty initial ask to a sub-$16 million closing highlights how few buyers are shopping for unusually large single-family townhouses in Manhattan’s current market, even when they come wrapped in Beaux-Arts grandeur.
What comes next
It is not yet public whether the new owner plans to live in the house, carve it up, or hold it purely as an investment. Because the building is landmarked, any exterior work will need sign-off from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. As reported by Crain's New York Business, the sale was recorded this week and marks the rare movement of an oversized Murray Hill single-family home.
