Bolla of Luxury Lofts & Homes is one of the city's foremost experts in historic restoration

Michael Bolla of Luxury Lofts & Homes is considered one of the city's foremost experts in historic restoration, particularly of landmarked properties. Bolla has worked on many significant projects such as the marketing, design and sales of The Forward Building on New York's Lower East Side (turning the site of the nation's oldest Jewish newspaper into luxury condominiums) and 16 East 94th St., a 7,000 s/f private townhouse he restored and designed. He also has two upcoming restoration endeavors in the works, both historic prewar buildings on the Upper West Side. Alongside business partner Michael Daniel, an international entrepreneur with developments all over the United States and South America, Bolla's current labor of love has been the mansion at 436 West 20th St. Over the past year, the duo has painstakingly restored every detail on the 10,000 s/f, 6-story West Chelsea home, bringing it back to its 1835 glory. The mansion boasts 9-bedrooms, 13-bathrooms, and is situated directly across from the picturesque Episcopal Seminary gardens. It is over twice the size of the other houses on the block, 25 and a half feet wide, 87 feet deep and was built on a 110-foot lot. The home now showcases its original pilasters and ceiling medallions (stripped of 10 layers of paint), 13 working wood-burning fireplaces (every floor has at least 2) and restored grand mahogany doors. The home boasts exquisite Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers dating from the 1830s that are original to the house and oversized Baccarat pieces dating from the early 1900s. No expense has been spared in returning the home to its original grandeur. The floor boards from the house which could be salvaged were re-milled and hand finished to perfection, while those that could not - 4,400 s/f worth of boards - were replaced after a country-wide search for the same Eastern White Pine dating from the same time period. Additionally, 21st Century amenities - such as a large elevator that fits five people and video security with armed guard backup by DGA Security Systems, Inc. - have been seamlessly integrated into the mansion. Each bedroom comes equipped with its own Bosch washer and dryer. In addition, every room is built within a floating wall and floor system further buffered with two to three layers of state-of-the-art sound insulation called QuietRock (a technology from Quiet Solutions). The home has two kitchens: a catering kitchen on the garden level and a family kitchen on the second floor. Appliances include Miele dishwashers, Liebherr refrigerators and stoves and wine coolers by Viking. For the first time in its 175-year history, the mansion is being offered for public sale. Bolla's career began over eighteen years ago in Greenwich Village. After being graduated from Baruch College with a BA in Finance and Economics, he continued on to study fine arts and architecture in a program of his own design at Columbia University, and later, at Cooper Union. No longer in the confines of a formal program, Bolla was able to focus on his distinctive passions and peruse a more eclectic course of study. During his graduate work, Bolla decided it best to learn in the field with a "hands on" approach, and began selling real estate. At the age of 21, he purchased and restored his first house. This quickly developed into a very active career, and Bolla soon devoted his time completely to downtown Manhattan residential brokerage and development. In addition to his work, marketing and developing historic projects, Bolla is currently the director of sales for Luxury Lofts & Homes, a boutique brokerage firm in New York City. His extraordinary success has enabled him to endure as the last of a nearly extinct breed of boutique firms in Manhattan. He represents a bi-coastal clientele and has consistently achieves record-breaking sales. His social and professional connections have linked him to the largest transactions in the downtown residential market and his client list speaks volumes about his performance and professionalism. Bolla and his team are recognized as the brokers of choice to accomplished entertainment professionals, their attorneys, and their managers, including the likes of Heidi Klum, America Ferrera and Denzel Washington, to name a few. Bolla is also an outspoken proponent of working with the City to find viable ways to amend rent stabilization laws in order to correctly restore buildings with fewer than 10 units and to bring back what is so rare in Manhattan: single family residences. Bolla takes a firm stance on the matter and explains, "Rent stabilization laws for buildings under 10 units should be crystal clear - providing a consistent, fail-safe, buy-out formula and eliminating the two sets of mutually opposed interests. It is not the job of the court to broker deals between tenants and homeowners, which has been the case each time I have found myself in such a predicament." When Bolla is not busy selling or restoring historic brownstones and lofts in New York, he can be found in the Hamptons or Europe where he has traveled extensively. The most influential aspects of his design come from the time he has spent traveling Europe, India, Asia and South America. The majority of Bolla's summers are spent taking in the scenic beauty of Cap d'Antibes, an idyllic peninsula off the South of France, home to many luxurious estates and magnificent villas. In July of 2005, Bolla was honored with a gold medal from the American Design Awards, an unsolicited honor for impressive Web Design, and his work and master craftsmanship skills continue to be widely recognized.