Townhouses

179-year-old Chelsea townhouse featured on ‘Seinfeld’ seeks $8.65M

Listing images by Yoo Jean Han; courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

October 11, 2019

179-year-old Chelsea townhouse featured on ‘Seinfeld’ seeks $8.65M

Seinfeld fans may recognize the exterior of this townhouse at 408 West 20th Street as the home of character Elaine Benes, though current owners Harry Azorin and Lori Monson, who bought the home for $950,000 in 1995, don’t get many questions about it anymore. “Maybe twice a month, someone would walk by, and they’d say, ‘Is this Elaine’s house?’...I’d say, about 10 years ago, it stopped,” Monson told the Wall Street Journal. Originally built in 1839, the residence is now on the market for $8.65 million. Even though Seinfeld was largely set on the Upper West Side, the house is actually located “on the most desirable street in Chelsea,” as the listing boasts, “perfectly positioned” on historic Cushman Row and overlooking the General Theological Seminary.
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West Village townhouse with a storied past and light-filled present seeks $18M

Listing images courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

October 4, 2019

West Village townhouse with a storied past and light-filled present seeks $18M

By Alexandra Alexa

Publisher Barney Rossett started Grove Press in the 1960s for only $3,000 and turned it into a major publishing house notable for introducing American readers to authors like Henry Miller, Eugene Ionesco, Tom Stoppard, and Jean Genet. At the time, he was living in a 25-foot wide townhouse at 196 West Houston Street in the West Village, where he entertained creative luminaries like Norman Mailer and John Lennon. In 1989, the townhouse sold to another literary man, publisher Peter Mayer, who brought Salman Rushdie’s controversial “The Satanic Verses” to print. Today, the townhouse is just as inspiring and fresh on the market seeking $17.95 million, or $49,000 a month as a rental.
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For $12.5M, this Upper East Side townhouse comes with a 40-foot pool and a two-car garage

Listing images by Travis Mark for Sotheby’s International Realty

October 2, 2019

For $12.5M, this Upper East Side townhouse comes with a 40-foot pool and a two-car garage

By Alexandra Alexa

Just off Park Avenue, this townhouse at 107 East 61st Street spans over 10,100 square feet and comes with two rare amenities for the Upper East Side: a two-car garage and a 40-foot pool. Originally built in 1899, the residence has a modern feel with sleek finishes and dramatic skylights. The property has been on and off the market several times since 2015 (including as a rental), with asking prices reaching up to $29 million. It was recently listed again for a significantly reduced $12.5 million.
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Famed Clinton Hill Pfizer Mansion with a rock-n-roll past and a $5M renovation lowers ask to $10M

Photo credit: Rayon Richards and Connie Zhou, courtesy The Corcoran Group

September 25, 2019

Famed Clinton Hill Pfizer Mansion with a rock-n-roll past and a $5M renovation lowers ask to $10M

By Michelle Cohen

Photo credit: Rayon Richards and Connie Zhou, courtesy The Corcoran Group In brownstone Brooklyn, there are dozens of grand homes that have historic significance and even more that are dazzling showcases of considered design. The unique 10,000-square-foot double mansion at 280 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill happens to be one of Brooklyn's finest examples of both. Known as the Pfizer Mansion–it was built in 1887 by Charles Erhart, co-founder of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company and brother-in-law to Charles Pfizer–the block-through property had a full slate of interesting inhabitants, from a library to industrial band rockers, before receiving an epic renovation from its current owner. That same owner, designer Jessica Warren, who purchased the property in 2007 for $3.2 million, spent many years and many millions restoring the house to a stunning degree that surpassed even its former glory. The home, which has been featured in numerous design publications, has most recently been a beloved B & B known as The Notorious B.N.B. The current owners put the house on the market in 2018 for $13.5 million. After a year and a broker switch, it's now asking $9.995 million–and it's worth every penny, from its graceful, curving windows to a working Otis elevator and private parking space.
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September 24, 2019

Own a 6,670-square-foot Tribeca townhouse with a garden, private garage and condo amenities for $15M

By Michelle Cohen

From the outside, the five-story townhouse at 3 Collister Street gives the appearance of being a modernist loft building, customized with a facade wall of windows to provide lucky homeowners with light and views. Within, the Tribeca home is a 6,670-square-foot mansion of a luxury home, with five bedrooms, a private garage, a private elevator, a back garden and a roof deck. But unlike even the most tricked-out of city townhouses, this home, asking $14.995 million and offered to the public for the first time, comes with the amenities of a full-service condominium–in this case one designed by BKSK Architects.
The best of all possible worlds, this way

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Rare Tribeca townhouse with wine cellar and duplex roof terrace seeks $15M

Listing images courtesy of Compass

September 20, 2019

Rare Tribeca townhouse with wine cellar and duplex roof terrace seeks $15M

By Alexandra Alexa

Just listed for $15 million, this rare Tribeca townhouse was designed by John L. Petrarca, the architect credited with bringing “a modern sensibility” to the neighborhood’s “old blocks,” as his New York Times obituary put it. The seven-story residence at 152 Reade Street is one in a row of three—completed in 2001—that are notable for being “the first new single-family dwellings built in Tribeca in more than a century.” The current owners bought the property in 2005 for $7.4 million and soon embarked on a gut renovation helmed by Philip Koether Architects. Among many upgrades, they built out a temperature-controlled wine cellar in the basement, installed an elevator, and created a two-story roof deck complete with a hot tub.
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$8M Village townhouse has an underground tunnel that connects to its carriage house

Listing images by Kenneth Chen at Evan Joseph photography, courtesy of Compass

September 18, 2019

$8M Village townhouse has an underground tunnel that connects to its carriage house

By Alexandra Alexa

For those who are up for a significant project, this unique Greenwich Village property has a lot of potential and some unusual features, starting with its configuration. The 1830 townhouse at 10 Bedford Street—now on the market for just shy of $8 million—sits on a 101-foot deep lot along with a separate carriage house that can be accessed via a tunnel or an elevated walkway in the garden. For the right buyer, this unusual setup could be a big enough draw by itself, despite the renovation work required inside.
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September 13, 2019

$18M Brooklyn Heights townhouse is the borough’s most expensive listing

By Michelle Cohen

Brooklyn Heights is an expensive neighborhood to be sure, but the five-story townhouse at 88 Remsen Street, asking $18 million, takes the top spot for the entire borough, where the most expensive sale to date was around $15.5 million (h/t Curbed). For that price, you're certainly getting your money's worth. The five-story home offers a separate apartment on the ground floor, with an owners' quadraplex above, complete with decks and harbor views. The historic home has lots of restored original details. But the most unique part of this pricey property is the carriage house that's included in the sale; across a quiet alley, this quaint structure is thoroughly renovated and includes a garage, a full kitchen, and a skylit recreation room.
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Photo credit: MW Studio / Udom Surangsophon courtesy of Compass.

September 12, 2019

Rent this Novogratz-designed Little Italy townhouse for $40K/month

By Michelle Cohen

Millionaire private investor and man-about-town Bradley Zipper purchased this Little Italy townhouse in 2004 to use as a massive bachelor pad where he could host celebrity soirees and lavish business events for up to 400 guests. After dropping $3.385 million on the property, he hired Cortney and Robert Novogratz, the famous husband-and-wife design team, to deck it out. The result definitely fit the bill, rocking a 900-bottle wine cellar that’s a replica of one in a Meatpacking District club, a 14-foot mahogany and pewter bar imported from Paris, and a vintage 1940s pool table surrounded by graphite walls. Zipper started trying to unload the house in 2013, first for $15 million, then $13 million, next as a $35,000/month rental, and again in 2015 for $15.5 million. Now the six-story 5,000-square-foot townhouse with six outdoor spaces is for rent once again asking an adjusted-for-inflation $40,000/month.
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Renovated 19th-century Greenpoint townhouse with California style seeks $5M

Listing images courtesy of Douglas Elliman

September 10, 2019

Renovated 19th-century Greenpoint townhouse with California style seeks $5M

By Alexandra Alexa

It took fashion stylist Katie Mossman five years to complete the renovation of her 19th-century townhouse in Greenpoint. Once a sea captain’s home in the 1850s, Mossman transformed the residence into an open, light-filled space with a double-height living room and indoor-outdoor concept. The two-family home at 76 Green Street is now on the market for just under $5 million, one of the neighborhood’s priciest listings. For those who aren’t looking to spend that much but love the idea of California vibes in NYC, the property is also available to rent for $13,500 per month.
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This $1.35M townhouse in Crown Heights is a compact condo alternative with a Nordic vibe

By Michelle Cohen

This 2,450-square-foot new construction single-family townhouse at 1543 Dean Street near the Crown Heights-Bed-Stuy border may not be towering, but its 25-by-59-square-foot interior, backyard, deck and parking add the privacy and perks you won't get in a condo of the same size. Interiors have the bright, whitewashed good looks of a sunny Scandinavian home, with a wood-burning stove adding to the Euro-appeal.
More bright white space, this way

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August 8, 2019

This freshly-renovated $50M Upper East Side townhouse was Gloria Vanderbilt’s childhood home

By Annie Doge

The 27-foot-wide, seven-story townhouse at 39 East 72nd Street is iconic even without the celebrity claim; a sandstone-clad facade and copper cornice cast an ethereal glow, yet blend with the stately homes on the Upper East Side block. Mansion Global reports that also-iconic socialite and businesswoman Gloria Vanderbilt lived in the home in her "Poor Little Rich Girl" childhood. The options for this pristine property are many. It's currently set up as three separate condos, but a combo would make a Vanderbilt-worthy manse.
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August 2, 2019

Pale timber, historic details and DIY done right define this $5,500/month Bed Stuy townhouse rental

By Michelle Cohen

Built in 1891, this three-story brick townhouse at 401A Monroe Street in Bed-Stuy uses each of its three floors to the best advantage of whomever's lucky enough to be in residence. The single-family home is available for rent for $5,500 per month beginning September 15. Within are four bedrooms, two baths, a finished basement and a private backyard.
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Photo credit: Evan Joseph for Modlin Group.

July 30, 2019

This $20M West Village townhouse has a rear wall of glass and a 40-foot-high steel facade

By Michelle Cohen

This ultra-contemporary single-family townhouse a 829 Greenwich Street is immediately recognizable from the outside: Its entire facade is comprised of a single piece of 40-foot-high steel. The four-story house lives up to its public face, courtesy of celebrated architect Matthew Baird, offering a private parking garage, a landscaped roof deck, a rear facade of floor-to-ceiling glass and a basement wine cellar. The highly sought-after Manhattan neighborhood on the border of the West Village and Meatpacking District doesn't hurt–and is likely a big part of the reason this unique home is asking $19.750 million.
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Try out townhouse living with this $8.5K/month Clinton Hill home, complete with a huge backyard

Listing images by Amanda James, DDReps; courtesy of Compass

July 16, 2019

Try out townhouse living with this $8.5K/month Clinton Hill home, complete with a huge backyard

By Alexandra Alexa

Since it last sold in 2016 for $2.35 million, the five-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse at 12a Monroe Street (located right on the Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy border) has undergone some key layout changes to maximize the home’s narrow 14-foot width and make it feel as spacious as possible. Now on the rental market seeking $8,500 a month, the 2,568 square-foot home boasts eight marble mantels, pocket shutters, wide plank floors, a gorgeous center staircase, and an expansive 52-foot backyard.
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$18M Beaux-Arts mansion is an Upper West Side architectural icon with Dakota views

Photo credit: Yale Wagner for Sotheby’s International Realty.

July 12, 2019

$18M Beaux-Arts mansion is an Upper West Side architectural icon with Dakota views

By Michelle Cohen

On the market for the first time in over 60 years, asking $17.995 million, this 20-foot-wide Beaux-Arts mansion stands among the most desirable blocks of the Upper West Side. Designed by the architectural firm Welch, Smith and Provot–the firm also designed the Duke-Semans Mansion on Fifth Avenue later owned by Carlos Slim–the six-story, 9,575-square-foot home at 5 West 73rd Street is one of the neighborhood's most architecturally significant houses; among its most compelling features are iconic views of another Upper West Side classic, the Dakota.
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Remarkably intact Renaissance Revival mansion on Riverside Drive seeks $8M

Listing images by Mike Tauber courtesy of Stribling at Compass

July 2, 2019

Remarkably intact Renaissance Revival mansion on Riverside Drive seeks $8M

By Alexandra Alexa

Also known as the Carroll Mansion, this five-story, nine-bedroom limestone townhouse at 86 Riverside Drive just listed with a price to match it’s potential: $8 million. The nearly 8,500-square-foot Elizabethan Renaissance Revival home was built in 1898 by Clarence True, one of the most celebrated architects of the Upper West Side at the turn-of-the-century. Flooded in light from northern and western exposures, the gorgeous property has most of the original architectural details intact, though needing a little attention.
The full tour, right this way

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

July 1, 2019

Brooklyn Heights’ third-oldest house, with a gut renovation, is asking $10M

By Michelle Cohen

This wood frame house at 59 Middagh Street, which, according to the current listing, is considered third oldest home in Brooklyn Heights, was built in 1832 for a New York University professor. The 6,300-square-foot home certainly appears quaint–if unremarkable–on the outside. And while it's a spacious 28 feet wide, the home's interiors have been completely reconstructed with a high-end builder-grade renovation, giving it every contemporary luxury–including an elevator, a wet bar, a sauna and a gym–and all of the historic charm of a suburban McMansion. The six-bedroom, single-family home's last recorded sale was for $3 million in 2014. It's been on the market for nearly a year, first asking $11.5 million. After a broker switch and a price chop, the house is asking a still-ambitious $10 million.
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$23M renovated Greenwich Village townhouse comes with a glass-walled lap pool

Listing photos courtesy of Prime Manhattan Residential

June 18, 2019

$23M renovated Greenwich Village townhouse comes with a glass-walled lap pool

By Michelle Cohen

The six-level, eight-bedroom townhouse at 109 Waverly Place, asking $23.5 million, already occupies the ultra-luxury zone with its 25-foot width, high-speed elevator and architect-led modern renovation. But an indoor lap pool and a rooftop Jacuzzi put the single family home spanning more than 8,300 square feet in a class by itself. Add to that exclusive combination 1,500 square feet of outdoor space and a cover spot on Interior Design magazine, and you might wonder why the historic Village address has been on the market since 2017, when it was listed for $28 million.
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June 7, 2019

Six fireplaces, stunning woodwork, and a steam room at this historic Park Slope home, now asking $3.99M

By Alexandra Alexa

The gracious four-story brownstone at 228 Garfield Place—part of the Park Slope Historic District—has been impeccably maintained and boasts many original architectural details, including six fireplaces, pocket doors, inlaid wood floors, wood shutters, and stained-glass transoms. The longtime owners also updated the residence with some modern, wonderfully decadent creature comforts, like a steam room in the master suite. The property was first listed in January for $4.495 million and has received a couple of price chops over the months before settling on its current asking price of $3.995 million.
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June 5, 2019

This loft-like Kensington townhouse with ground floor commercial space seeks $1.5M

By Michelle Cohen

Located in laid-back Kensington just a few blocks south of Prospect Park, this two-story building at 711 Church Avenue is neither a typical loft nor townhouse. The 2,590-square-foot building, asking $1.495M, may be compact, but it's full of opportunities. The building's ground floor is a commercial space perfect for an artist (it was formerly being used as a studio and gallery), doctor, dentist or retail shop and a great source of rental income. Upstairs the residential space is a chic, loft-like home.
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$2.8M Greenwood townhouse comes with cinematic cemetery views

Listing photos by DDReps, courtesy of Compass

June 4, 2019

$2.8M Greenwood townhouse comes with cinematic cemetery views

By Michelle Cohen

Listing photos by DDReps, courtesy of Compass Perched at the highest point in Brooklyn in Greenwood Heights, tucked into a quiet street surrounded by greenery, this contemporary townhouse at 614a 7th Avenue, asking $2.75 million, would be equally at home in California or the sun-baked tropics. Balcony doors can be thrown open for panoramic views, which include the Statue of Liberty–and the endless vistas of the adjacent Green Wood Cemetery. On the lucky additions side, there's a curb cut and a garage. Even better: A mural of Basquiat–a Brooklyn native–on the garage door.
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May 31, 2019

$2.2M Wallabout townhouse comes with multiple outdoor spaces and two parking spots

By Alexandra Alexa

Adjacent to Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard is one of Brooklyn’s oldest but least known neighborhoods: Wallabout. Though somewhat isolated due to its lack of public transportation, the area boasts a rich history dating back to the 17th century. It was once home to the area’s second largest producer of chocolate (second only to Hershey’s), Brooklyn’s first free African-American school, and where Walt Whitman wrote the first edition of “Leaves of Grass” while living at 99 Ryerson Street. Wallabout contains the largest concentration of pre-Civil War wood-frame houses in the city, but amid the historic homes are some contemporary gems, like this 2011 metal-clad townhouse at 336 Park Avenue. The 2,500 square-foot property—complete with a side yard, a roof terrace, and two parking spots—is currently on the market for $2,200,000.
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May 28, 2019

A renovated Federal-era West Village home with a solarium seeks $5.1M

By Alexandra Alexa

Part of the Greenwich Village Historic District, the Federal-style rowhouse at 41 Barrow Street was originally built in 1828 as a "two and one-half storied wood building with [a] brick front in Flemish bond, steeply pitched roof and dormer window," according to the 1969 LPC designation. For all the historic charm it oozes from the outside, the interior has undergone a thorough renovation that kept many of the original details—wide-plank wood floors, two of the three original fireplace mantels, exposed wood beams—while gaining some modern upgrades. Of these, a solarium built on the parlor floor is the highlight, bringing plenty of light into the home and better flow to a somewhat tricky layout. The historic West Village property is now on the market for a cool $5,100,000.
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Listing photos by VHT, courtesy of The Corcoran Group

May 23, 2019

$5.3M Upper West Side townhouse has a wealth of possibilities in its 18 rooms

By Michelle Cohen

Listing photos by VHT, courtesy of The Corcoran Group The four-story, five-family townhouse at 135 West 78th street could compete with any of its neighbors for the title of the prettiest house on an elegant brownstone-lined Upper West Side block. Inside, the 20-foot-wide home is currently configured as five units including an owner’s duplex, a top-floor two-bedroom market-rate flat, and three one-bedroom rent-stabilized units. In addition to living in a large, characterful duplex with a glass-walled garden view and receiving income from the variety of rental apartments, the new owner has the future option of conversion to a 4,500-square-foot single-family home when units become vacant.
Get a peek at some of those 18 rooms

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