Private members' club that was so exclusive it REJECTED Gloria Vanderbilt AND Richard Nixon is transformed into Manhattan's most expensive home as it goes on sale for $130MILLION

By JAMES DANIEL

When it comes to living in New York City, space can come at a premium – but with money, those troubles can be solved.

The city’s largest single-family home - a five-story town house in a once notoriously exclusive private members' clubs - is about hit the market with $130 million price tag.

Situated just off the FDR Drive on East 72nd street with views of the East River, River House is a co-op building that used to have a private members club that opened in 1931 and washome to apartments owned by the likes of Rothschild heirs and Henry Kissinger over the years.  .

For sale: River House, for the first time in the 82-year history of the building is up for sale. The Residence is being offered in its existing condition, enabling the buyer to create what will truly be one of the grandest urban residences in the world

Plenty of space: It will be the largest single family home in New York City - in the proposed renovation plan designed by Tony Ingrao it would comprise over 62,000 square feet on five levels

In the past, movie stars and the very best of New York’s high society desired to be allowed entry to River House but only the most well-heeled clientele were accepted.

Gloria Vanderbilt, Richard Nixon Diane Keaton and Joan Crawford are all said to have been rejected over the years by the building notoriously upmarket board. 

Now the private members' club is to be converted into a lavish home - that will be the most expensive in New York should it go for the asking price. 

At 62,000 square feet, the club is the size of 10 townhouses, but with the space comes enormous potential such as an 62-foot long pool or an enormous kitchen to satisfy the most insatiable of appetites.

The finished home will boast 30 rooms over the five levels and include an indoor swimming pool, a living room with a baby grand piano, an 8,400 square foot "entrance/living level," a 27,500-square-foot leisure level (with a 62-foot swimming pool, tennis court, IMAX screening room, wine cellar, spa, and gaming room), and a 6,000-square-foot staff level.

The most expensive home that has actually sold in New York City is a penthouse apartment at 15 Central Park West bought for $88 million.

The penthouse formerly owned by Sanford I. Weill, the former head of Citigroup Inc, was bought by a trust for the daughter of former fertiliser magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, student Ekaterina.

Potential: The 27,500 square foot Garden/Leisure Level includes a 62' swimming pool, tennis court, IMAX screening room, wine cellar, full spa and gaming room

Palatial: Residents and guests will enter through a private entrance from the East 52nd Street cul-de-sac into the 8,400 square foot Entrance/Living Level. The major public rooms feature 20' ceilings and expansive light-filled spaces

Unassuming: Located off FDR drive overlooking the East River, the tower recently unveiled plans to turn its private club house into a sprawling, 62,000-square-foot, single-family home with a $130 million price tag

Exclusive: The River House private members club was so uppity it rejected the likes of Gloria Vanderbilt and Diane Keaton. The place was so exclusive that it prohibited brokers from naming the building’s address or even its name in listings

Beautiful but rejected: River House did reject Gloria Vanderbilt, who sued, claiming she was nixed for her relationships with cinematographer Gordon Parks and singer Bobby Short, but dropped the suit after the board insisted its reasons were financial, not racial

How it used to be: Designed by the classical American architect, William Bottomley, River House epitomized the height of luxurious living when the building opened in 1931

History: Realtor Brown Harris Stevens have declared River House to be 'the most important private residential property in New York City history to come to market'

A unique residence: Stretching over five levels, River House would be the largest home in Manhattan. The question is, who is able and willing to pay $130 million asking price?

Location: Despite it's stunning nature, the buyer will have to deal with a co-op board. There's also not much in the immediate vicinity of the River House, with no chic restaurants or no hot cocktail bars

Busy beneath: When the building was constructed there was an easy route to the East River where residents could go sailing. Today there is the ever-busy six-lane FDR Drive in the way!