Eighties art star Julian Schnabel's entry into the luxury real estate market is stirring up the kinds of emotions his paintings once did. Nearing completion on West 11th Street in Manhattan, the as-yet-unnamed tower has drawn the wrath of the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation, whose executive director, Andrew Berman, described it as his "worst nightmares come true" in an interview with The Villager. Noting that the 11-story, 167-foot edifice looms high over the otherwise low-rise neighborhood, Berman sniped, "It's really a monument to this guy's ego."

Reinforcing that judgment, sources tell Radar that Schnabel, who will be the building's charter tenant, intends to hand-pick the other buyers himself, presumably to preserve his vision of moneyed bohemian perfection.

Of course, Schnabel is just the latest bold-facer betting his personal notoriety is enough to move units. Uma Thurman-dating hotelier Andre Balazs has been all over the press for his "yuppie-pod" financial district project, The William Beaver House, targeting Wall Street bonus babies, and even Jade Jagger's got condos in Chelsea.

Schnabel's erection will be unveiled in a photo shoot for the forthcoming luxury spank book 100 Thousand Club, which hopes to rival the likes of Departures and the reborn Absolute when it launches stateside in 2007 with a mailing to America's 100,000 "ultra-high net-worth individuals."

How very downtown.