Hudson Square townhouse in contract at $15M could break area record

It’s the second townhouse to find a buyer with a neighborhood-record ask in as many months

27 Vandam Street, Hudson Square (Compass, iStock, Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal)
27 Vandam Street, Hudson Square (Compass, iStock, Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal)

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Another townhouse has gone into contract for a potential record sum, this time in a tiny sub-neighborhood between Soho and Hudson Square known as the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District.

The 180-year-old townhouse at 27 Vandam Street went into contract this week for a price very close to its $14.9 million ask, according to listing agents Rachel Glazer and Cassie Glover of Compass.

The current record in the area was set by a six-bedroom townhouse at 41 King Street, according to Matthew Lesser at Leslie J. Garfield, which specializes in townhouse sales. That home sold for $14 million in January, records show.

The 5,100-square-foot, five-bedroom home also has 1,200 square feet of private outdoor space. The primary suite takes up the entire third floor and has a fireplace and a private terrace with a jacuzzi. The garden level has a wet bar, refrigerator and fireplace in the living room. A 600-square-foot lower level has three skylights and was used by the sellers as a private gym and recreation room.

Glazer and Glover considered pursuing an off-market strategy for the property, but decided to put it on the market to benefit from the end of the spring season. They declined to identify the buyer.

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“Timing and positioning matters so much,” Glazer said, explaining that she and Glover convinced the sellers to list on-market to gain more attention and to price it realistically. “They wanted to start off higher; we said you can’t go above 15.”

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The townhouse, built in 1823 on the former Richmond Hill estate where George Washington oversaw parts of the Revolutionary War and John Adams later resided, is the second townhouse to enter contract with a neighborhood-record asking price in as many months, joining one in Fort Greene. Both houses underwent a gut renovation, a key reason for their record prices, according to Lesser.

“All the houses that were just listed were truly mint condition that will require no construction,” Lesser said.