Colorado Biotech Mogul’s Tribeca Penthouse Requires No Compromises for City Living

Need lots of room for family and friends, preferably with relaxing outdoor space, but dislike the suburbs? No problem! Well, not if you have deep pockets, anyway.

This Tribeca condo sports a commodious 5,800 square feet of interior space, and not just one but two lavishly appointed terraces. With multiple living spaces, a couple of home offices, and even two kitchens, the duplex has plenty of room for everyone and everything. Plus, it’s recently been renovated and upgraded with all the latest smart home features for trouble-free living. The asking price for the five-bedroom and five-and-a-half-bath spread is $16.5 million.

The listing notes that the penthouse has just “undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation,”  and records show it was acquired about a year ago for $15.5 million by Colorado-based serial biotech mogul Kevin Ness, who has also made some record purchases in the Centennial State, including a $57 million, 11-bedroom home in Vail.

Built around 1900, the nine-story, 24-unit building on top of which Ness’ lower Manhattan penthouse sits was converted to condos in 2004. As with many downtown lofts, the apartment showcases period features, including old wooden beams and cast-iron pipes. The recent renovation, however, added such 21st century features as automated blinds, a home automation system, and newly landscaped private terraces.

The apartment is entered through a foyer with a hidden staircase to the upper floor and mullioned steel and glass doors, which lead to the gigantic, 1,000-square-foot great room. The ceiling of the nearly 47-foot-long great room, which includes ample living and dining spaces and a sleek black-and-white kitchen, tops 11 feet. Large windows offer views to St. John’s Park. With a huge marble island, and a custom pantry, the suburban-sized kitchen is perfect for family life; off the great room is a small room used as a children’s craft room. The rest of the lower floor comprises a spacious guest suite  with en-suite bath along with generous storage and a powder room.

Ceilings are still an impressive 10-plus feet on the upper floor where there is another living/dining room, this one with a huge skylight, as well as a home office with built-in desk space and a media room, off of which are a kitchenette and a bathroom. Wide glass doors open from the second-floor living space to create an indoor-outdoor oasis. Perfect for entertaining, the terrace is lushly planted and automatically irrigated. It’s also wired for light and sound. Even better—there is yet another private exterior space accessible by staircase that is currently under construction. Views from the newly redone terrace include One World Trade Center and the midtown skyline.

The upper floor also contains a trio of bedrooms, all located off a skylight-topped library lacquered in glossy turquoise paint. The primary suite boasts walk-in closets and a marbled ensuite bathroom that’s complete with soaking tub and rain shower, while the two other large and unconventionally laid out bedrooms each have a private bathroom and a built-in bunk bed.

And finally, the penthouse is completed by an oversized laundry room that even suburbanites would envy, with two sets of washers and dryers. All the comforts and space of a suburban home in the heart of Manhattan’s trendy Tribeca, no compromises necessary.

The penthouse is listed with Jeremy Stein of Sotheby’s International Realty,