Why this Gramercy Park house hasn't sold yet, we don't know, but it's exquisite

By BrickUnderground | October 14, 2015 - 2:10PM

Of all the real estate trophies to hold in Manhattan, for many, there's nothing like a tried-and-true townhouse. First, there's the scarcity: Only a a few hundred of them are ever on the market—StreetEasy counts about 350 available as of this writing—and they're, yes, expensive. But some trophies are shinier than others.

Take this multi-family in Gramercy across from Stuyvesant Square, which starts by having a fairly interesting pedigree. Thomas Morton, one of the earliest developers in the city, built the house there in 1852 and lived in it, later selling it for the then-princely (and record-breaking) sum of $28,000, per the Stuyvesant Square Historic Designation Report.

This isn't the first time the house, which measures a generous 28 feet wide, has been on the market. The owner, according to the New York Daily News, is soap opera star Noelle Beck, who first put it up for sale for $16.995 million last year. It was pulled off the market this summer, and reappeared on StreetEasy for another go two weeks ago, this time with a price cut—it's now offered at $15 million by CORE brokers Emily Beare and Patrick Lilly.

The four-floor owner's unit is grand, with a high-ceilinged living room calling out for a party (just in time for holiday party season) and tall windows that scale nearly to the room's heights.

The staircase, it has to be said, looks tailor-made for a dramatic (soap opera) entrance, and the fireplace mantle is a conversation-starter.

The kitchen, though thoroughly modern, has been renovated—and chandeliered—to evoke old-world charm. There's a Viking stove and limestone countertops, and a separate office right off it.

And the bedroom? Again, dramatic—with another fireplace, to boot, plus a terrace. And, like all the other floors of the townhouse, it has a bay window.

The yard is no joke, either. (Once more, the party possibilities!) And there's a music room in the basement, as well as another office.

And if you're interested in playing landlord, there are two one-bedroom rentals above the owner's unit. Or, better yet, renovate the top floor so they can be folded into the rest of the building and the place can become the one-family mansion it once was.

What do people really mean when they say a place has "good bones"?

Thanks to Airbnb and Google Maps, Gramercy Park gets a little less exclusive

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