A Townhouse-Turned-Montessori School in New York Asks $38 Million

The roughly 16,200-square-foot house is located across the street from the home of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Little and Browne, it was completed around 1903 as one of a pair of mansions for then-prominent real-estate investor Charles Walter Ogden and his sister Mary F. Ogden, according to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. If configured as a single-family home, it could have at least 8 bedrooms, Vance said.

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The property was previously on and off the market starting roughly a decade ago, with an initial asking price of $51 million. It was last taken off the market in March 2018, asking $38.5 million, according to listings website StreetEasy. Schott said there were “no serious buyers” at the time, but he is now more optimistic about the chances of finding a buyer. The lease with the school is in place for several more years, but an exit clause could be exercised sooner, Vance said.

The 28-foot-wide house, which has a Roman brick facade with ionic porticos and limestone trim, is “impeccably preserved,” Vance said. Inside, it retains its original woodwork, intricate moldings, fireplaces and leaded glass. A grand staircase leads to a first-floor reception gallery, an oval meeting room and a bow-front study. A library on the second floor stretches the entire width of the house. The home’s original ballroom, known as the ‘White Room,” is currently being used as a classroom, Schott said. There is also a private roof deck with views of Central Park.

The property’s original configuration has been largely maintained, but two stories were added in the 1960s. Over the decades, the nonprofit invested in restoring some of the historic details of the house, Schott said. They removed some “gunky” fireproofing from the walls to reveal the wood finishes, and restored the plasterwork and fireplaces. “Some of the stuff we had to teach ourselves,” he said. “But we didn’t mind. It was a labor of love.” For visitors coming to the property in search of more meaning and purpose in their lives, Schott said, “it helps to have the most beautiful surroundings possible.”

The nonprofit is selling because it has another location in the Hudson Valley and has moved some of its operations there, Schott said.

In the first quarter, Manhattan luxury sales were down by about 37.5% from the same period of last year, while the median sales price fell 12.8%, according to a recent report by Douglas Elliman. However, the market has picked up steam in recent months for properties priced $10 million and up, said Vance, who shares the listing with colleague Sandra Ripert. At a pair of Gilded-Age townhouses she listed for $63 million in Midtown in April, the interest has “exceeded our expectations,” Vance said.

Write to Katherine Clarke at [email protected]