Apparently there wasn’t nearly enough blogging material in the West Village to suit Tumblr founder David Karp. So what’s a shaggy-haired techy to do? Move to Williamsburg, of course! Mr. Karp has purchased a $1.6 million condo in Brooklyn’s tony Esquire loft building.
Like his site, it seems that Mr. Karp has no trouble attracting capital: city records show Mr. Karp used a $1.1 million mortgage from J.P Morgan Chase to purchase his new home.
Raised on the Upper West Side, Mr. Karp recently admitted to being “really freaked out by anything off the grid” in reference to his then-recent move to the West Village. Lord knows what his parents must think about him being across the river. Still, the Esquire’s Manhattan-esque grandeur (meaning wealth-quotient), bolstered in no small part by the building’s turgid name, seems to have been enough to lure Mr. Karp from his Village rental to a bigger and better Brooklyn abode.
Like the glory days of Web 1.0, Mr. Karp paid dearly for the place, throwing down an extra $25,000 over the $1.575 million ask. “There was a bidding war,” said Corcoran broker Chris Cavorti, who listed the property with husband-and-wife team Evan and Kate Church. “We had multiple offers on the property.”
While elaborating little on the particulars of the transaction, Mr. Cavorti noted that several prospective buyers had their sights on the place. “Most people that bid on it in the bidding war instantly loved it,” he said. To put that in terms Mr. Karp could understand, it got a lot of hearts.
The micro-blogger par excellence can wander throughout this spacious 1,700-square-foot duplex, updating his status, re-posting sweet Internet memes and uploading pictures of his Frenglish bulldog Clark. The listing describes the duplex as by saying “It’s Exquisite, It’s Enormous.” The corner unit has two bedrooms, 20-foot ceilings, exposed brick walls and a “bike/stroller area” in the foyer—perfect for the avid cyclist, but is there room for his Vespa, too?
Mr. Karp bought the condo from a Gwynne Gauntlett, who quite possibly has the best name in the tristate area.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the original asking price of the apartment at $1.5 million, not $1.575 million/
eknutsen@observer.com