An Upper East Side townhouse gut-renovated by a neighbor who had been the subject of the former owner’s ire has hit the market for $24.99 million.
“It’s a true New York story,” said the seller, Meredith Verona of Corcoran, who is also the listing agent and lives next door.
Verona and her husband, Bryan, paid the late Richard “Dick” Snyder, the former chair of Simon & Schuster, $9.25 million for the home at 120 E. 78th St. in 2022. It had first listed for $26 million in 2012.
By 2014, Snyder claimed in a $60 million lawsuit that the Veronas’ lengthy renovation of their own townhouse at 122 E. 78th St. — which they restored from a multiple-apartment dwelling to a 36-foot-wide single-family home — hurt the sale of his own residence.
The “frivolous” lawsuit was dismissed the same year, Verona said, adding that construction work actually raised property values on the block.
While the Veronas had “no interest” in buying the house when it first hit the market, Verona said she did feel “some responsibility.” The home’s price kept dropping, and they learned about “infractions” that needed to be fixed. Finally, when the price fell to $11.5 million, the Veronas got serious about buying it.
At more than 12,600 square feet, the neo-Georgian home with limestone accents features nine bedrooms, 12 baths and six fireplaces.
The 18-foot-wide property was originally built in 1930 by banker Henry Winthrop — and comes with French paneling, hardwood floors, carved marble mantels, an elevator, an elliptical staircase and a large skylight. There’s also a large living and dining room, a wood-paneled library, plus an eat-in chef’s kitchen, a 600-bottle wine cellar and a gym.
The eight-story home was designed by Beaux-Arts architects Delano & Aldrich, whose clients like the Knickerbocker, Colony and Union Clubs, and schools like Chapin and St. Bernard’s, helped define the neighborhood.
The renovation took around 12 months and the home is move-in ready. Meredith’s father is chairman emeritus of the Olnick Organization, a real estate development group, and she had access to speedy construction.
“I also lived next door and was there every day,” Verona said, adding that she was able to use knowledge gained from her own renovation for this project, like making sure every floor had a bathroom and that there were multiple green spaces — a saving grace during the pandemic when their kids and bernadoodles would run around on their roof.
“It was a harder project than we thought, but it was a fun project,” Verona said. “I love the house and the history of it, and we are committed to the block. It was a labor of love.”
“We have a lot of fun restoring these great houses. We are passionate about the history and restoring them to what was — not creating something modern — as a tribute to the history of New York,” Verona said.
