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manor homes with style<strong>MY</strong> <strong>BLUE</strong> <strong>HEAVEN</strong>Inside Chase Lenfest’s record-breaking penthouse pad By Sue HostetlerLocal Philadelphia media entrepreneur and philanthropistChase Lenfest is known for being a pioneer and pushing theenvelope when it <strong>com</strong>es to business and charity. So it shouldn’t <strong>com</strong>e as asurprise that his new, swank Center City apartment has already broken allkinds of records. Located in The Residences at Two Liberty Place, the 5,850-square-foot condominium sits on the 46th floor in the luxe contemporaryhigh-rise crafted out of former insurance offices. When Lenfest purchasedthe unit in March 2009 for $7.6 million, he set the record for the highestprice ever paid per square foot for a Philly condo (subsequently broken justa few months ago by money manager Theodore R. Aronson). If that weren’tenough, his pad includes a 2,040-square-foot private terrace—the highestresidential outdoor space in the state. This, coupled with the fact that thebuilding sits on the highest point in the city, provides Lenfest with somekiller views. He concedes that the colossal patio was what ultimately soldhim. “I looked at all of the highest units in all of the downtown buildings,”he says. “I have a huge deck with east, west and south views—no other placehad a space like this. And it’s one of the few high apartments where you canactually open the windows.” Lenfest <strong>com</strong>bined three of the six units forsale on the floor (one-time mayoral candidate Tom Knox bought the otherthree) and with the help of interior designers Kathryn Veronica Schaefer ofKVS Designs, along with apprentice Kelli Young and intern Brian Plaum,turned the space into a sleek urban oasis.1 Phillystylemag.<strong>com</strong>
“I had never seen raw space inPhiladelphia so vast and open andfull of potential,” says Schaefer,adding that the patio is so high upand wind-battered that workershad to be tethered to the buildingduring construction. “On a cloudyday there is zero visibility,”Schaefer says. “You’re in theclouds.” Lenfest loves being rightin the heart of Center City. “Thearea just keeps growing,” he says.“So many restaurants, the KimmelCenter, art museums, parks, greatculture and history… everythingis within walking distance.” Theterrace flooring is an epoxy-coatedmixture made to look like anaggregate stone tile. The outdoorfurniture is by IL Gusto.p h o t o g r a p h s b y pa u l s. b a r t h o l o m e w (i n t e r i o r s); b e n w e l d o n (l e n f e s t)Chase Lenfest in the foyer ofhis condo at The Residencesat Two Liberty PlacePhillystylemag.<strong>com</strong> 2
Lenfest’s favorite room in his home Is the expansive master bedroom. “It’s 1,600square feet,” he explains. “We put two bedrooms together. And I love that you cansee South Philly and the Ben Franklin Bridge.” These are custom surroundings, to besure. Schaefer designed the bed frame and matching panel headboard wall in suppleSpinneybeck leather and the alabaster TV cabinet at the foot of the adjustable oversizebed by Hollandia International. The Carrara marble-topped gray oak credenza (at fa rl e f t) that houses a Sub-Zero refrigerator for late-night snacks was custom designed byBrian Plaum. (Beck & Ness handled construction of the TV cabinet and marble-toppedcredenza.) The dyed cowhide rug was manufactured by Kyle Bunting. Its stunningplatinum color pops off of the ebony-stained walnut floors.
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