Maya Angelou’s Harlem townhouse sells for $2M

An unidentified buyer snapped up the late Maya Angelou’s Harlem townhouse for just under $2 million, or roughly $565 per square foot.

The three-unit townhouse at 29 East 129th Street spans 3,500 square feet. It was listed for $2.6 million back in February, but the asking price was reduced twice after it failed to sell. The deal closed for $1.98 million earlier this week, according to Valon Nikci of Link NY Realty, who represented the estate of Maya Angelou. The brokerage has managed the property for Angelou for the past five years.

The Harlem building has three full rental units, including a garden level duplex, according to the listing. Records show Angelou, who died in 2014 at age 86, bought the property for $275,000 in 2001.

The literary giant’s net worth was reportedly between $10 million and $34 million at the time of her death. In her will she left gifts to six New Yorkers through a trust she had set up. The beneficiaries included writer Khephra Burns, songwriter Valerie Simpson and choreographer Georgie Faison, the New York Daily News reported.

Back in July, an unidentified buyer paid $4 million for Angelou’s former home at 58 West 120th Street. Angelou had extensively renovated that particular property and moved into it in 2004. The original listing price was $5.1 million.