-WSJ

An assemblage of Manhattan apartments owned for years by the late Robert Trump, the younger brother of former President Donald Trump, is coming on the market for $7.5 million. 

Located on East 66th Street on the Upper East Side, the units for sale include a duplex on the eighth and ninth floors of a historic cooperative known as the Studio Building, said listing agent John Burger of Brown Harris Stevens, who is marketing the property with colleague Katherine Marshall. A separate apartment on the seventh floor is also included in the offering, he said.

The duplex is being delivered in “white box,” or relatively unfinished, condition. The space has 20-foot-high ceilings and a stained-glass window.
PHOTO: BHS

Mr. Burger said the duplex, a combination of several units, has 20-foot-high ceilings and stained glass windows in the living room. It is being delivered in “white box” condition, meaning it is relatively unfinished. The properties are being sold by Robert Trump’s estate following his death last year at age 71, said James Kiley, a lawyer for the estate. 

Robert and Blaine Trump in 2003.
PHOTO: STEPHEN LOVEKIN/FILMMAGIC/GETTY IMAGES

Robert Trump, one of the former president’s four siblings, previously managed real-estate investments for the family business, the Trump Organization. Donald Trump visited him at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital shortly before his death, and later issued the following statement: “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever.” 

Robert Trump and his then-wife, Blaine Trump, purchased their first unit in the Studio Building, a duplex, for $5 million in 2003, Ms. Marshall said. They spent another $1.6 million adding two additional units, records show. Ms. Marshall said the couple started renovating, but split before the project was complete. The Trumps never moved in, said Mr. Burger, adding that the apartment sat vacant for several years. Robert Trump also had homes on Long Island and in New York’s Dutchess County, Mr. Kiley said. He married Ann Marie Pallan last year; she didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The limestone-clad building was designed as artist studios in the early 1900s by the architect Charles Platt, according to Catherine Coleman Brawer’s 2006 book, “The Studio Building.” The Italian Renaissance design was immediately popular and the building became a catalyst for development in the neighborhood, the book said. 

New York City’s real-estate market is rebounding, thanks to pent-up demand, said Mr. Burger. During the third quarter of the year, Manhattan sales more than tripled compared with sales during 2020’s third quarter, according to research and appraisal firm Miller Samuel.