In a neighborhood that has long defined the aesthetic pulse of Manhattan, it takes something extraordinary to rise above. At 20 Greene Street, a $45 million penthouse—now the most expensive ever offered in SoHo—does just that. But this isn’t just another luxury address. It is a study in restraint, a meditation in materials, and the product of a rare alchemy between visionary ownership, museum-grade design, and a reverence for what home should feel like.
The owner, a deeply private art-world figure with a reputation for collecting more meaning than media, approached the transformation of this space with almost monastic clarity. He didn’t want opulence—he wanted harmony. He commissioned Gachot Studios to restore the raw bones, preserving the cast-iron integrity while introducing a modern serenity. But it was his decision to engage Axel Vervoordt that elevated the penthouse into something close to spiritual.
Vervoordt, whose name now reads like its own design dialect, is best known in pop culture for creating Kim Kardashian’s “monastic modernity” in Calabasas—but his real legacy is deeper. He treats rooms like chapels, materials like relics. Here, his imprint is subtle but sovereign: matte plaster walls that hold light like breath, oak floors that silence the day’s noise, and the confident absence of trend. The spaces feel untouched by time.
And yet, they also feel deeply personal. Each corner has been tuned for presence. On the sixth floor, the kitchen’s custom Sub-Zero installation is shadow-toned and elemental. The dining room doesn’t perform—it receives. A wood-burning hearth warms not just the room, but the ethos. You ascend a private staircase—carved like a ribbon through air—and discover the crown jewel: a rooftop where silence becomes skyline.
As the listing agent and presenter of this one-of-a-kind residence, I’ve come to know the nuances of this home intimately. And frankly, this isn’t something I typically say about a property. But this one feels sacred. I’ve stood barefoot on the terrace at sunrise, coffee cooling in my hand, the city blinking awake below. And I thought, “This isn’t real estate. This is resolve.”
The seventh floor houses one of the most emotionally resonant primary suites I’ve encountered in my career. It’s not just a bedroom—it’s a retreat. Flanked by private gardens and fitted with a Japanese soaking tub that seems to listen more than echo, it captures something that most luxury homes forget: grace. A rooftop Auroom Mira sauna completes the offering, turning this penthouse into a wellness haven in the clouds.
The owner, I should note, was never interested in resale optics. Every inch of the 6,814 interior square feet and the 2,841 square feet of outdoor space was crafted for permanence. And yet, life moves. The opportunity to inhabit this residence is now open—not as a transaction, but as a quiet inheritance of vision.
From smart home integration that disappears into seamless millwork, to unobstructed views of 56 Leonard and the ghosted outlines of Tribeca, the penthouse feels like it’s floating above narrative. It doesn’t shout. It listens. It knows how to hold you.
My role in this is both professional and personal. As someone who has built my career around placing people into environments that elevate them—homes that hold character as much as they offer comfort—I can say that this is among the most complete offerings I’ve ever seen.
The Aether Above SoHo is not for everyone. It was never meant to be. But for the person who recognizes that the greatest luxury is not noise, but nuance—this home waits.
And I would be honored to introduce you to it, exactly the way it deserves.
