Tom Clancy’s Widow Bought a $21.5 Million Penthouse in N.Y.C.

The case is solved! Turns out the mystery buyer who recently doled out $21.5 million for a snazzy triplex penthouse at 108 Leonard in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood is Alexandra Clancy, the widow of the late bestselling author Tom Clancy, who penned numerous spy thrillers ranging from The Hunt for Red October to Patriot Games. Elena Sarkissian of Douglas Elliman held the listing, with Dora Abril of Douglas Elliman repping the buyer.

Records show the seller was the building’s developer, Elad Group, which restored and transformed the former New York Life Insurance Company building known as the Clock Tower into luxury condos in 2018 in collaboration with the hospitality design firm Jeffrey Beers International. First listed in spring 2022 at around $24.5 million, the property was scooped up by Clancy in early June at a substantial discount.

Originally designed by the architect Griffith Thomas and completed in 1870, the building was expanded two decades later by the legendary firm McKim, Mead & White. The ornately embellished block-long structure, which has housed notable past and present residents the likes of music industry titan Clive Davis and A-list couple Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a New York City landmark in the 1980s.

Spread across the top three floors of the 16-story Italian Renaissance Revival structure, Clancy’s light-filled aerie, dubbed the Crown Penthouse, comes with five bedrooms and seven baths. Roughly 6,200 square feet of modern living space accessible via an internal staircase and elevator boasts chevron-patterned oak floors, 15-foot ceilings, and large arched windows throughout. A trio of outdoor terraces spanning a combined 2,200 square feet also provides sweeping views of the Empire State and Municipal buildings, City Hall, the East River, and the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and George Washington bridges.

In addition to a 1,000-square-foot great room anchored by a striking marble fireplace, other highlights include an eat-in kitchen sporting custom Scavolini cabinetry, a marble waterfall-edge island, top-notch Miele appliances, and a 100-bottle wine fridge. There’s also a wet bar-equipped media/recreation room, plus a fireside primary suite that occupies the entire top floor and has a mini-kitchenette, separate sitting room, and dual walk-in closets and baths.

As for the monthly maintenance fee, Clancy will pay a hefty $10,427 per month for the privilege of living in the building, where its many premium benefits include a valet-serviced drive-in motor reception court and a 20,000-square-foot wellness area featuring a 75-foot lap pool and fitness center. Also available are a wine cellar with a private dining room and cabana lounges sprinkled amid rooftop gardens.

The daughter of J. Bruce Llewellyn, a Harlem-born entrepreneur who was worth about $170 million upon his death in 2010, Alexandra Clancy worked as a TV news reporter before marrying Tom Clancy in 1999. After Tom Clancy’s death in 2013 at age 66, she was embroiled in lawsuits over the author’s $83 million estate, both with his first wife Wanda and her four children, as well as his second wife Alexandra Marie Llewellyn Clancy.

Included among Tom Clancy’s assets were shares of the Baltimore Orioles and recurring royalties and rights related to his most famous character, Jack Ryan. There was also a 400-acre Chesapeake Bay estate that Alexandra Clancy received and then sold in 2020 for nearly $5 million, much less than its $6.2 million asking price.

Click here for more photos of the Tribeca residence.