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Gold-Domed Manhattan Penthouse Sells for $9M, Cash to Africa

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A Flatiron District penthouse crowned by a gilded dome sold at auction for $9 million after 530 days, with proceeds going to Mozambique conservation.

A five-bedroom Manhattan penthouse capped by a gold-leaf dome has changed hands for $9 million, closing an auction that ended 530 days of failed marketing at a far higher price. The home sits atop the Sohmer Piano Building in the Flatiron District and first went on sale in November 2024 with a $25 million asking price, meaning the final figure came in 64 percent below where the listing began.

The seller was Greg Carr, a technology entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded Boston Technology. After the property drew no buyer through standard listings, it was moved to Concierge Auctions and offered during the firm's live "America 250" event in New York City. Bidding closed on July 29, 2026, at $9 million. Sotheby's International Realty agents Claire Groome and Lawrence Treglia co-marketed the residence with the auction house.

Carr has committed the entire net proceeds to the Gorongosa Project, a conservation program working to rebuild Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park and to back the communities living around it. He explained that his life no longer left room for a New York base. "I work in Africa, and I go home for holidays in Idaho," he told reporters, "so it wasn't leaving a lot of time for New York."

Inside the gilded dome at 170 Fifth Avenue

The apartment occupies the top of the 13-story Beaux-Arts building at 170 Fifth Avenue, a structure designed in the 1890s by architect Robert Maynicke. The living space runs to roughly 5,777 square feet spread over two main levels, with five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms.

Its defining element is an octagonal gilded dome that encloses a two-story private room. From there, the interior opens to 360-degree sightlines over the city, taking in the Flatiron Building, Madison Square Park and the Empire State Building. The rooms are finished with wide white oak flooring, high ceilings and 40 oversized windows. A limestone staircase climbs beneath an 80-foot glass skylight, and the upper floor leads out to a private rooftop terrace fitted with a fire pit for open-air meals.

Carr bought the duplex penthouse in 2007 for $7.22 million, according to public property records cited by CityRealty. The $9 million auction result sits above that purchase figure, though well short of the sum he had sought when the unit first reached the market.

More than $100 million pledged to Mozambique

Carr has directed his fortune toward charitable work for more than two decades since leaving the tech sector. Through his foundation, he has personally put upward of $100 million into habitat restoration, wildlife protection and community development across Mozambique. The penthouse sale adds to that record, converting a long-static New York asset into funding for the Gorongosa work.

The decision to auction the home rather than keep waiting delivered a firm sale after nearly a year and a half of no movement on the listing. Highly customized luxury residences in Manhattan can linger for long stretches before competitive bidding sets a price the market will accept, and the live sale allowed Carr to lock in a buyer and free the money for his overseas projects.

The purchaser's identity has not surfaced in official deed transfer records, and no name has been made public.

Sohmer Piano Building, Greg Carr, Manhattan penthouse auction, Gorongosa Project, Concierge Auctions, 170 Fifth Avenue, gold dome penthouse, Flatiron District real estate

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