19th-century East Village townhouse with contemporary addition seeks $6.5M

An East Village townhouse with an impressive architectural pedigree just listed with Corcoran for $6.495 million—and if ever a house were to be described as “business in the front, party in the back,” it’s this one.

According to the listing, the home at 263 East 7th Street was designed by the same architects behind the Dia:Beacon museum, which explains the ultra-modern addition on the back of the home. But its bones are much older; the townhouse itself dates back to the 1880s, and many of those details—cathedral ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, and wide-plank oak floors—have been preserved.

The house is currently configured as two units, with an owner’s duplex on the lower level, and a one-bedroom apartment with guest suite above that. (The place could be transformed back into a single-family home, though, if a buyer chooses.) There’s also an expansive roof deck, and skylights that let light in to the unit below.

In fact, the abundance of outdoor space is one of the more appealing things about this apartment; in addition to the roof deck, there’s also a back patio with an outdoor shower (the master bedroom leads out to this—must be nice), a second-floor loggia, and a third-floor deck.

Though the house is quite a hike from the nearest transit options—it’s between Avenues C and D—it does overlook a community garden, and it’s next to the so-called Flowerbox Building, where a single condo is asking $4.2 million.

• Listing: 263 East 7th Street [Corcoran]