EXCLUSIVE: Former RHONY star Kelly Bensimon opens the doors to her palatial New York home of 30 years as she rents out a stunning property for a whopping $28,500 a month and moves in with new fiancé Scott
Former Real Housewives of New York star Kelly Killoren Bensimon is offering the opportunity to step into her designer shoes and fulfill their reality star dreams by moving into her palatial New York City apartment… for the rather hefty price of $28,500 per month.
The 55-year-old, who recently announced her engagement to investment banker Scott Litner, has moved out of the sprawling fourth floor after 30 years of living to settle into a new home with her partner.
Now, Kelly has opened the doors of the apartment to DailyMail.com for an exclusive tour, offering an intimate look at the space, which is located in the former NYPD headquarters at 24 Center Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy.
Located between Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy, the Beaux-Arts building features a doorman, gym and perfectly manicured gardens.
It’s the building Kelly has called home for three decades now — and one she previously shared with her two daughters Sea, 25, and Teddy, 23.
After living in her palatial New York City apartment for nearly 30 years, Real Housewives star Kelly Killoren invited Bensimon DailyMail.com into her three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which she rents out for a whopping $28,500 a month
The apartment has 18-foot ceilings and a beautiful Palladian window that overlooks the bustling streets of New York City
The star, who will continue to represent the building, concluded: “It’s really bittersweet to leave this apartment because I’ve been here in this building for over 28 years.”
Kelly also revealed that each bedroom in the 3,600-square-foot apartment has its own shower and bathroom
But now she’s ready to begin the next chapter of her life – but not before reminiscing about some of her favorite memories from her time in the building.
Kelly began letting DailyMail.com into her 3,600-square-foot unit on the fourth floor: ‘This is really a loft style apartment that lends itself to great entertaining and also cozy evenings…
“This apartment means so much because we filmed the first seasons of Housewives, and this is where my kids used to have all those parties.
“It was really funny because the kids thought I was super cool. I want to pass the baton to the next one.’
The apartment features an expansive walk-in closet, 18-foot ceilings, and a beautiful Palladian window that overlooks the bustling streets of New York City.
Kelly also revealed that each room has its own shower and bathroom, one of which also has a bidet that cleans itself and has a heated seat that she wanted to install after her Playboy party in Las Vegas.
Over the years, the reality star has carefully decorated her apartment to very high standards, arguing, “I’m very, very good with interiors. I call myself a spark plug hoarder.’
Its most notable features are a seven-foot-tall resin horse, which was the focus of an episode of the show, and a great white shark in her daughters’ old room.
She said, “Jaws was from Montauk. I think from my modeling days. I used to bring back vintage. This was only $100.”
Kelly hosted DailyMail.com in her fourth-floor apartment and began, “This is truly a loft-style apartment that lends itself to great entertaining and also cozy evenings.”
The star also installed a bidet that cleans itself and has a heated seat, which she was inspired to do after her Playboy party in Las Vegas
The apartment, which was featured on Real Housewives of New York, features an expansive walk-in closet
Over the years, the reality star has carefully decorated her apartment to very high standards, arguing, “I’m very, very good with interiors. I call myself a spark plug hoarder’
The historic building in which Kelly’s apartment is located served as NYPD headquarters until 1973 before being renovated into luxury apartments
Kelly said she was happy to negotiate to leave some of her personal decor at home before laughing at how her home was “far removed” from her humble upbringing in Rockaway, Illinois.
The mum-of-two revealed that the apartment has seen a lot of familiar faces over the years, as she said: ‘We’ve had everyone from Naomi Campbell, Andre Balasz… We’ve had a lot of supermodels and a lot of celebrities.
‘I used to have a lot of parties here, that was so much fun. I used to celebrate all my friends who were designers and when it was my birthday I would have a lot of people come and when the girls were younger we used to have Halloween parties here.
“Dean Winters has been here. It was so much fun and Drew Barrymore was here for one of my parties.
“When you walk in here you just want to have a good time. It’s a nice apartment, but it’s not stuffy. It doesn’t look like a Hamptons rental. It just has a really easy vibe.”
When asked if she would like to have one last meeting before she leaves, Kelly said, “I’m not throwing a going away party because I’m not leaving!” I just rent it for a year.
“The market in New York is very, very hot, so I just decided that my youngest daughter just graduated from college and she just moved. My oldest daughter has a great job and she’s moving.
Those wanting to rent the block must earn more than $800,000 a year to qualify for rent, as Kelly joked, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”
Kelly said she was happy to negotiate leaving some of her personal decor in the house before laughing at how her home was “far removed” from her humble upbringing in Rockaway, Illinois
Kelly said, “When you walk in here you just want to have a good time, it’s a nice apartment but it’s not stuffy, it doesn’t look like a Hamptons rental, it just has a really easy vibe about it”
It’s the building Kelly has called home for three decades now — and one she previously shared with her two daughters Sea, 25, and Teddy, 23
Its most notable features are a seven-foot-tall resin horse, which was the focus of an episode of the show, and a great white shark in her daughters’ old room.
“And so I thought why not take advantage of the market and give someone else a chance to enjoy the place I call home.”
Speaking of her ex-husband Giles Bensimon, Kelly said, “We are the first couple to consciously uncouple in a charming way.
“My ex-husband lives next door to me so… he could just knock on the door and the girls would come up and say hi, so it was just a really relaxed environment for my girls.
“When my kids’ friends say what it’s like to be divorced, my kids say, ‘What does that mean?’ They don’t have the same hostility or fear because I’ve never brought that up with my kids.”
Those look to rent the block must earn more than $800,000 a year to qualify for rent, as Kelly quipped, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”
The star, which will continue to represent the building, concluded: “It’s really bittersweet to leave this apartment because I’ve been in this building for over 28 years and so while it’s exciting for my new chapter, it’s also going to be hard for me not to be (here) all the time.”