It’s no secret that the rich and famous are abandoning New York City in droves, pursuing greener, less crowded pastures elsewhere in the country. The latest celebrity to join the Manhattan exodus is attorney, television news personality and Republican Party darling Kimberly Guilfoyle — n Donald Trump advisor and current flame of Donald Trump Jr. — who has hoisted her glammy apartment in the illustrious Beresford building on the market for a hair under $5 million.
Completed in 1929 and designed by famed Hungarian-Jewish architect Emery Roth, the Beresford is desirably located on the edge of Central Park and boasts a long and storied history as one of the most sought-after and luxurious pre-war co-op buildings in the city. As is the case with most upscale co-ops in Manhattan, the application process to get into the Beresford can be capricious and forbiddingly selective. Nonetheless, the stately complex has seen a long line of showbiz types call its walls home. Jerry Seinfeld has a big spread in the building, and former residents include Glenn Close, Diana Ross and late opera diva Beverly Sills.
Guilfoyle’s soon-to-be-former home measures in at about 2,400 square feet and has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and all the dignified trappings of a gracious apartment in the Beresford. The former Fox News personality, who left the network in 2018 under a rather unusual set of circumstances, bought the lower-floor unit in 2014 for $3.4 million from author and journalist Gregory Speck. A bit of an eccentric, Speck is an avid fan of taxidermy and there was hardly a space on the walls that wasn’t covered in preserved animals. After he sold the place, some of Speck’s vast taxidermy collection was donated to the Virginia Museum of Natural History and Guilfoyle quickly set to work modernizing the space, sinking a good amount of time and money into it in the process.
Like most other units in the Beresford, the home has soaring 10-foot ceilings and now features dark-stained original hardwood flooring, pale, silvery grey walls and a variety of glitzy wall sconces and chandeliers. The apartment is entered via a semi-private elevator landing and a 28-foot-long gallery that separates the dining room from the living room. With a wall of north-facing windows and an elegant wood-burning fireplace, the grandly proportioned living room has been decked out with an icy silver and baby blue palette. A cowhide rug playfully echoes the former taxidermy that once filled the room.
The ample formal dining room sports the same traditional moldings and trim work found in the living room, and, as is the case with many New York apartments —even the larger ones — the kitchen is undeniably a bit on the small side. It has, however, been completely decked out with Carrara marble countertops and matching backsplashes, plus a deep farm-style sink and a fancy gas range.
The principal bedroom has been painted a delicate shade of cornflower blue with sheer curtains and an accent wall wallpapered with a geometric, yet feminine and vaguely tie-dye pattern. The adjoining master bathroom features Jack-and-Jill sinks with Calacatta gold marble, a walk-in shower and a large clawfoot tub. Of course, there’s also a sizable walk-in closet.
Listed with Carol E. Levy of Carol E. Levy Real Estate, the apartment’s additional amenities include soundproofed windows, an integrated sound system and central air, the latter a big deal in these pre-war dowagers built before the advent of air conditioning. The building offers all the white-glove bells and whistles expected of an ultra-luxury co-op in Manhattan, and some of the many perks of living in a fancy apartment house like the Beresford include 24-hour doormen, an attended lobby, advanced security systems, a private health club and bike storage rooms. There are even elevator operators so residents don’t have to exert themselves (or soil their fingertips) pushing buttons.
In addition to her girlishly-glam Central Park residence, Guilfoyle, who was once married to Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom, also owns a sprawling seven-bedroom mansion in the Hamptons that she purchased with Trump Jr. over the summer of 2019 for $4.4 million.