There are two listings available at 178 Bleecker Street, and with them the rare opportunity to live overlooking the historic MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens so beloved in Greenwich Village. Following a sales launch last year, two two-bedroom units remain: Unit Four for $1.995 million and the Penthouse for $3.5 million.
At 1,118 square feet, the fourth-floor residence offers a private terrace, an expansive living area, dark oak hardwood flooring and an in-unit washer/dryer. The kitchen includes custom cabinetry and Caesarstone countertops.
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The duplex penthouse spans 1,682 square feet across the building’s crowning floors. Inside, the home features the finishes and amenities of the residences below, plus an unmatched versatile media space surrounded by panoramic views of the city. The 750+ square-foot private outdoor space is designed to immerse the resident within the beckoning neighborhood and garden below while elevating to new breathtaking levels.
At seven stories tall, 178 Lafayette features a renovated lobby, custom designed by Kristina LoMonaco of KML Willow Interiors. Residents have access to a virtual doorman, private elevator landing, and a key fob-secured package locker.
The interior courtyard and garden area was created in 1921. Today, the blissful, peaceful space is home to maples, sycamores, and elms, surrounded by an English-style hedgerow. Bordering the shared common area is a row of private backyards, privy to those homes bordering the garden’s east and west sides.
A myriad of stars and artists have called this secret space home over the years, including Bob Dylan and Anna Wintour, as well as Italian painter Francesco Clemente, his wife, theatrical designer and style icon Alba Clemente, photographer and film director Francesco Carrozzini, Australian film director Baz Luhrmann, and French composer Edgard Varèse, among others.
The marriage of these private and shared garden spaces was the brainchild of William Sloane Coffin, President of the Hearth and Home corporation who purchased the land in 1920. In order to appeal to the new resident who sought the area’s funky charm, the concept of communal living, and a well-balanced dose of amenities, he renovated the block with the interior gardens in mind. His conceptual lifestyle was soon imitated all around the Village and city itself.
Rising in the place of an 1861 row house bordering the north end of the garden, 178 Bleecker’s development precedes a strong movement against the demolition of the homes surrounding the Macdougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District. This landmarked community, designated in 1967, included only those 21 row homes lining MacDougal Street and Sullivan Streets - those surrounding the interior garden’s east and west sides.
After three successive phases in 2010, 2013 and 2016, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation landmarked those buildings surrounding the garden’s north and south ends, as well as many more of the South Village’s historic homes. Demolition plans for the existing row house at 178 Bleecker had just snuck through the cracks.
Google Earth aerial showing the location of 178 Bleecker (CityRealty)
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Contributing Writer
Katy Cornell
Katy Cornell is a Long Island native with a passion for writing about real estate in the big city. She recently graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in English and is a frequent contributor to CityRealty's Market Insight and NYC real estate blog 6sqft.
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