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<\/p>\n\n\tBack in the 1970s, Bill DeSeta and his then-fianc\u00e9e and now wife, Donna Lazzara, doled out a mere $170,000 for a charming yet rundown Elizabethan Renaissance Revival townhouse in Manhattan that was formerly a single-family residence but had been chopped up and left to squatters. The showbiz couple\u2014he a Broadway producer and director, and she a casting director and the sister of Bernadette Peters\u2014subsequently embarked upon an extensive renovation of the six-story property, converting it into a multifamily building with an owner\u2019s duplex on the second and third floors and several rental units above and below that have welcomed the likes of actress Mary-Louise Parker and Cabaret star Joel Grey.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe DeSetas first put the limestone-and-brick structure, located on West 80th Street in the Riverside-West End Historic District, on the market in 2017 for $20 million, and considered a $15 million offer, but decided they weren\u2019t ready to sell at the time. They put it up for sale again in 2020 for $12 million, after new laws protecting renters in multifamily buildings had just passed and caused the value to plummet, and then reduced it to $10 million before removing it from the listings.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tThe dining room fireplace has been converted into a wine rack.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill Ellis<\/p>\n
\n\tRELATED: Ellen Barkin\u2019s Former N.Y.C. Townhouse Just Hit the Market for $23 Million<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tLast year, after making a permanent move to Florida, they doubled down on their efforts to offload the place, asking $7 million. Though that elicited a bidding war and a $7.8 million contract, the deal fell through. Now, in a bit of a d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu moment, the building has once again returned to the market with the same exact $7 million asking price.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen coming up with a design plan at the outset, Bill and Donna pursued a \u201cmedieval castle fantasy\u201d vibe, according to Curbed<\/a>. The result? A conglomeration of gothic, moody interiors featuring hand-laid parquet floors, dark wood-paneled walls, period wallpaper, stained-glass windows, arched doorways, and secret panels. There\u2019s also a grand staircase complemented by an elevator, a full basement, a rare private garage with a curb cut, and a sprawling rooftop garden overlooking the Hudson River.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tA bed and wall unit in the primary bedroom were hand-crafted by the owner.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill Ellis<\/p>\n \n\tRELATED: A Gilded Age Mansion in N.Y.C. That Was the Scene of a 1915 Murder Just Listed for $68 Million<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tDesigned and built in 1897 by noted developer and architect Clarence True, the historic spread clocks in at 43 feet wide and roughly 11,600 square feet. It offers a total of 14 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, the standout of which is a 3,000-square-foot owner\u2019s duplex that is centered on a double-height salon with an ornate stone fireplace and a built-in cocktail bar. Other highlights include a bookshelf-lined study, a coffer-ceilinged dining room sporting a fireplace-turned-terracotta wine rack, and a primary suite with a separate sitting room.<\/p>\n \n\tPer Mark Jovanovic and Scott Hustis of Paradigm Advisory at Compass, who hold the listing<\/a>, the infrastructure offers limitless potential to be reimagined as a colossal single-family residence or a luxury investment property.<\/p>\n \n\tClick here<\/a> for more photos of the Manhattan building.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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