Richard Gere Flips Out at the Chupi

SELLER: Richard Gere and Carey Lowell
LOCATION: West 11th Street, New York City, NY
PRICE: $17,995,000
SIZE: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: This truly one-of-a kind residence was conceived and crafted by artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel. Inspired by American architects Addison Mizner and Stanford White, Schnabel crated the apartment to feel like Venice in Manhattan. Room proportions are grand, ceilings are 12'6:+- high, light streams in from all directions and there are huge french doors in every room leading to terraces with Hudson River views. A large wood burning fireplace exists in the living room and there is a covered 66'+- colonnade running along the entire north side of the apartment. Drama abounds. Amenities include parking, elevator, air conditioning, pool and 24-hour doorman.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Oh dear. Drama does indeed abound. The children will recall that in September of 2007 Mister Gere snatched up a four bedroom and 4 bathroom apartment in the fecund and florid real estate fantasy land that is artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi on West 11th Street in New York City's far West Village.

Turns out thoough that the Dalai Lama luvin' actor is flipping his Chupilicious crib even before moving into the full floor unit for which he forked over $12,000,000 in September of 2007. Your Mama imagines that bearded and oft be-robed bon vivant Julian Schnabel must be at least a little bit p.o'd.

That is unless the whole purchase thing was a publicity stunt from the get go. What? Say it isn't so! We know nothing about nuthin' kids, but we also never underestimate an artist with the vast (self) promotion talents that Mister Schnabel possesses. And, let's get real folks, who wouldn't jump the chance to turn twelve million bucks into 18 in 6 short months?

What's most interesting to Your Mama about Mister Gere's flip is that the asking price is only $17,795,000. Yes, of course, this number represents a gigantic increase over what Mister Gere paid just six months ago, but it's also substantially lower than the mind boggling number Mister Schnabel has attached to the other two available units (a duplex and a triplex penthouse), now priced at a rather optimistic $32,000,000 apiece.

As was noted by the fine folks at Curbed, Mister Gere may not have moved in, but he did make some aesthetic alterations to the unit including changing the color of the kitchen cabinets from cat vomit green to a much more tolerable black.

With Mister Gere and Miz Lowell opting out of the Chupi, that leaves only Mister Schnabel and some rich dude from Credit Suisse living in the pink and pretty building that listing information indicates includes such hyper luxe amenities as a private residents only pool, on-site private parking, and a 24-hour doorman, a particularly dee-luxe feature in a building with only five apartments.

Your Mama doesn't really care if Mister Gere or any other famous person wants to cough up the big bucks to live at the Chupi or not. We still think it's a fantastical folly that gleefully and rebelliously flips the architectural bird at all the super sleek glass curtain towers that have been and are still being erected on every postage stamp sized lot in the West Village. Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter would happily park our fleet of BMWs in the garage and move our long bodied bitches Linda and Beverly into the duplex, but Mister Schnabel willhave to come down off that blistering $32,000,000 asking price a wee bit 'cause while we lurv the kooky and quirky architectural cotton candy that is the Palazzo Chupi, we ain't crazy.