A historic Soho building, once owned by the late John Lennon and Yoko Ono, is on the market for the first time in 50 years.
The two-storey brick, bluestone, and terracotta structure at 496 Broome St was purchased by the iconic couple in 1971, marking their first New York City residence.
This was two years before they relocated to the Upper West Side’s Dakota, where Lennon tragically died.
Yoko Ono, who has retained ownership of the property since its purchase, and her son, Sean Ono Lennon, have listed the building for sale through JLL, with an asking price of $5.5 million, according to the New York Post.
The building on Broome St was sort of like a base for their artistic ventures,” Philip Norman, author of John Lennon: The Life said.
He noted that Lennon and Ono, now 91, also rented an apartment at 105 Bank St around the same time.
“Bank St was their salon, where people could just walk in,” he added.
Constructed in 1885, the building features an open-format, gallery-like ground floor with 4.3m ceilings, an open kitchen, and a lofted bedroom at the rear.
The second floor includes a live-work space and a recording studio.
The ground floor exterior is adorned with large panes, while the upper level showcases four consecutive windows.
The building spans just over 353sq m, with zoning permitting the addition of three more floors, potentially increasing the total space to about 696sq m square feet.
“496 Broome St is both a unique piece of New York history and popular culture and a prime investment opportunity for the right buyer,” Paul Smadbeck, who holds the listing with JLL colleague Guthrie Garvin, said.
“Its versatile zoning and prime location in one of the city’s most desirable and trendsetting neighbourhoods offer an exciting opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind property.”
