Marlon Wise's Blog: Historic West Village building, home to Chumley’s, seeks $12.75M

A decade after part of the building caved in, it's ready for a new owner

If you've ever dreamed of living atop a piece of New York City history, now's your chance—provided you have $12.75 million to drop on a house, that is. A 19th-century townhouse at 86 Bedford Street in the West Village just hit the market with that price tag, and keen-eyed observers may notice something about that address; namely, the fact that it houses the famed speakeasy-turned-restaurant Chumley's.

It's been a long road for this particular piece of Greenwich Village real estate. Let's travel back in time to 2007: That was the year that Chumley's chimney collapsed, thus kicking off a decade-long effort to rebuild the space that was stymied by construction delays, scaffolding nightmares, and the inevitable NIMBY lawsuits (which ultimately proved unsuccessful).

The beloved bar, long a haunt for the neighborhood's bohemian set (it was frequented by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Eugene O'Neill, among others), finally reopened last fall to good reviews, and still has many decades left on its 99-year lease—so potential buyers, take note.)

And now, it's time for the duplex atop Chumley's to make its own debut: The listing itself is light on details, aside from noting that the residential portion of the building has "undergone an extensive multi-million dollar ground-up renovation." The photos corroborate this; there are two bedrooms, a modern-yet-cozy living room, high ceilings, a skylight, and a lovely little roof terrace. If you don't mind living above a bar—hey, that's why earplugs were invented—this could be a pretty sweet deal.