One man, Clement Clarke Moore, has two claims to fame: writing “The Night Before Christmas” and, also, totally creating the neighborhood of Chelsea. In the 1800s, Moore split up and sold off his grandfather’s estate, which dominated the area (and gave it its name), and began developing the surrounding blocks. Fast forward 200 years, and a scrap of Moore’s grandfather’s land—holding an 1836-built house at 354 West 20th Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues—hit the market in January, asking $6.25 million. According to public records, a pair of buyers, Keith Cackowsky and Rachel Schnipper, just picked it up for $6.2 million. The rather rundown, five-story townhouse is part of a row of six homes on the block that all have “two bays, brownstone facades, and forecourts surrounded in original cast ironwork fencing.” An SRO that was once home to multiple residents, it was delivered vacant, and the couple plans to gut-renovate the property into a single-family home. There’s potential for a rooftop interior expansion and deck addition.
· Listing: 354 West 20th Street Leslie Garfield
· 177-Year-Old Chelsea Townhouse Listed For $6.75 Million Curbed
· The 200-Year History of Chelsea’s Ever-Expanding Borders Curbed
SOURCE: Curbed NY – Read entire story here.