MANHATTAN — A seven-story, 8,800-square-foot townhouse half a block west of Washington Square Park hit the market Wednesday for $28.9 million, making it the highest-priced single-family townhouse in all of Greenwich Village.
With its own "wine-tasting lounge," spa and a kitchen designed by Da Silvano chef and restaurateur Silvano Marchetto, the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home at 80 Washington Place is billed as offering luxury living in a historic setting.
American composer and conductor John Philip Sousa once owned the Georgian-style building that was built in 1839.
Developer William Rainero, who grew up in the landmarked 22.5-foot-wide house, spent three years transforming what was once nine separate apartments into one huge home, Robert Dvorin of exclusive broker TOWN Residential said. Rainero and company decked out the home with four remodeled kitchens, 11 skylights and its own stone waterfall.
"Everything in the house was done at the highest level," Dvorin said.
Despite the high-end renovations, the townhouse sat on the market for nearly a year without a sale, listed at $31.5 million by Douglas Elliman in June 2012. The price was cut by 5 percent, to $29.9 million in January, but there was still no deal.
Now, with a new broker and an additional $1 million chopped off the price, Dvorin said he and colleague Clayton Orrigo are confident the home will sell.
"It's priced well now," he said. "We're relaunching it, and the market now is on fire."
Village brokers and buyers alike have reported an acute shortage of luxury homes, and fierce bidding wars for fine homes.
For cooks, the townhouse has four kitchens — two of which are outdoors — and a 700-bottle wine cellar.
Outside, the home has a teak cabana dining area and garden, a terrace, and a roof deck with views of Washington Square Park, the Freedom Tower and the Empire State Building.
With amenities this posh, Village residents can expect to have a new celebrity neighbor.
"With any listing I've ever had at this price point, it's bold-faced name after bold-faced name," Dvorin said.
