Sarah Jessica Parker is on the move…she’s been living in an 1840’s brick townhouse on Charles Street in the West Village for over 10 years. I remember when she and Matthew Broderick purchased it for a paltry $2-3 million because it was the 90’s and it was a real “fixer-upper”. So they bought it and fixed it up…inside and out including re-building the elegant stoop, installing video camera security, child-guards on the windows, and numerous other things. She found the house, rumor has it, strolling around the neighborhood during a Sex and the City shoot (her character Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone apt. is around the corner on Perry Street).
Now, 10 years and 3 kids later, she is looking for a bigger place and has put this one on the market for $9 million. A lady realtor friend of mine confirmed several months ago that Sarah & Matthew bought an elegant 1830 townhouse (much larger) for $19.5 million on a street just off University Place and was having it decorated (also a new stoop put on), etc. before moving into it. But suddenly around the first of April, the New York real estate columns are full of headlines announcing: “Sarah is moving to Brooklyn Heights!” The story says she is buying two adjoining houses on State Street in Brooklyn Heights for an undisclosed sum, blah blah blah. Don’t bet the farm on this…. I can’t confirm it yet, but this sort of “sudden” story smacks of being “planted” by her P.R. people and managers, most likely because she’s preparing to move into the new house and her “people” are trying to discourage photographers, reporters and nosy tourguides. Nothing against Brooklyn, but Sarah Jessica Parker is a Manhattan/Hamptons kinda gal and she is not moving to Brooklyn any time soon. Now she is worth a LOT of money and has a production company, as well as money managers, etc. so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was buying real estate here and there for 2 reasons…for an investment and also to discourage people from knowing where she was really living. Also, she comes from a large family…6 or 7 brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she was helping a friend or family member put a down payment on property…this would also serve the purpose of helping a friend and providing a smoke screen for her actual whereabouts. Who knows.
Personal Note: I actually knew Sarah Jessica Parker years ago when she was on Broadway in ANNIE as a 12-year-old going on 35 (like all child actors) but I’m sure she doesn’t remember me. Her Mother might… I was just a teenage acting student who sold programs and ANNIE souvenirs in the lobby and used to hang out and chat with the stage Moms and kids. I remember when Shelley Bruce (Broadway’s second Annie) got leukemia and left the show suddenly so Sarah was promoted from orphan “July” in the chorus to the lead as Broadway’s third ANNIE, I remember when they dyed Sarah’s brown hair red and everybody in the Alvin Theater was talking about how she cried but kept a stiff upper lip because she wanted to play Annie and red hair was mandatory. I remember her last day as ANNIE (like the others she grew too tall and began developing)…her Mom asked me to help them clean out her dressing room and load the car. It was a party in there with a lot of people including teenage Brooke Shields and her Mom Teri. Later, I worked as an extra on SEX AND THE CITY and was right next to Sarah…I really wanted to say something about the Annie years, but I knew she wouldn’t remember me so I kept quiet. I wish her all the best, but I still love reading and writing about celebrity real estate!
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