Two Manhattan townhomes occupied by nuns sold for $18.8 million in a deal that closed Wednesday, Mansion Global has learned.
The Greek Revival-style townhomes, located at 236 and 238 East 15th St. in Gramercy, were built in 1850. The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary acquired the property in the early 1940s, according to listing agent Lisa Kobiolke of Compass.
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The townhomes were later combined to create one 52-foot-wide mansion with 18,720 square feet of living space. There are a total of 20 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms. The property includes a garden.
A dining room is pictured.
CompassBy the 1960s, the sisterhood’s ranks had dwindled, and it began renting rooms to young women and other congregations, as reported by the New York Times. By June, only one sister lived there, and so the order put the property up for sale. It listed at $19.75 million about two months ago.
The buyer intends to live in one of the townhomes with her family and transform the other into student housing to generate income, according to Ms. Kobiolke.
The homes were originally occupied by Lewis L. Squires, a local ship chandler, and Mahlon Day, a printer and seller of children's books, before they were acquired by the sisterhood.
Some of the proceeds of the sale will pay for the sisters’ relocation to the Bronx, while the remainder will be donated to missions around the world, according to Ms. Kobiolke.
Write to Gina Faridniya at gina.faridniya@dowjones.com