Emmy-winning actress Debra Messing is downsizing from her renovated Upper East Side co-op after her son moved out, but says she’s committed to staying in New York.
TLDR
Debra Messing is asking $6.495 million for her Upper East Side co-op – a property she bought for $5.45 million in 2015 and poured roughly $2 million into across two renovations, one of them forced by fire damage from a neighbouring building. The three-bedroom full-floor apartment sits half a block from Central Park and is hitting the market as Manhattan median sale prices climb 5.2 per cent year-on-year. The trigger is straightforward empty-nester logic: her son is out, the apartment is too big, and she’s ready to move on – while staying in New York.
Actress Debra Messing lists her renovated Upper East Side co-op for US$6.495 million as she downsizes following her son moving out. Photo: Zillow
Emmy-winning actress Debra Messing has listed her Upper East Side apartment for US$6.495 million (approximately AUD$10.2 million), citing a shift to empty-nester life as her reason for selling.
The full-floor co-op sits half a block from Central Park and features three bedrooms, a library that can convert to a fourth bedroom, and a staff room. Debra purchased the property in 2015 for US$5.45 million.
The prewar apartment hadn’t been renovated in 30 years when Debra bought it and she reworked the layout while preserving original architectural details including detailed mouldings, millwork and coffered ceilings.
“I love architecture and I love history,” Debra told Mansion Global.
Photo: Zillow
A fire in a neighbouring building later damaged the apartment, prompting a second renovation. In total, she spent approximately US$2 million on improvements to the property.
“It’s like when you make plans, God laughs,” she said of the unexpected second renovation.
The actress, best known for playing interior designer Grace Adler on the long-running sitcom Will & Grace, described the apartment as her “family home of dreams”.
Now in his 20s, her son is moving into an apartment with friends.
“So it’s like, ‘You know what? This place is just too big for me now,’” she said. “It’s time to downsize.”
Debra has opted for a soothing colour palette of creams and greys with occasional bursts of colour and described herself as a homebody who didn’t want a “fussy showplace.”
Listing agent Cathy Franklin of The Corcoran Group said the building attracts owner-occupiers rather than second-home buyers.
“It’s very much residential, where people live in the building,” Franklin said. “The lights are on.”
Despite her decision to sell, Debra, a Brooklyn native who returned to New York after years filming in California, said she plans to stay in the city.
“New York is home.”