Mansion Global

Non-Profit Foundation Buys $8 Million Manhattan Townhouse

The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute closed on the 15-room property Tuesday

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The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute—a pro-peace and anti-war foundation—is the new owner of an 8,000-square-foot, six-story brick townhouse in Manhattan’s Murray Hill.

The deal closed Tuesday for $7.75 million, according to a representative for Stribling, the brokerage that represented both parties in the transaction. The final sale price is a pinch less than the $7.99 million it had been asking since hitting the market last June, listing records show.

A.J. Muste was a pacifist, anti-war activist and a leader of the labor and civil rights movements. The eponymous institute was founded in 1974—seven years after Muste’s death in 1967—to keep his legacy alive through ongoing support of the nonviolent movement for social change, according to the charity’s website.

Currently zoned for two families, the property—on East 38th Street—was completely rebuilt with steel frame construction and new mechanicals while maintaining original design elements such as iron ornamental balconies and original marble and wood mantles, according to the listing with Stribling’s Julie Perlin. It will become the institute’s new headquarters.

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"I was the third broker to take on a listing for this property and with all of its unusualattributes, I knew the house required a unique buyer," Ms. Perlin said. "When the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute expressed interest in the property, the transaction became much more involved because not-for-profits are subject to different sets of requirements than traditional real estate sales typically entail. Brokering a deal took on a new level of meaning for this transaction."

The seller inherited the 15-room property and had it for a number of years but ultimately decided to sell because they did not live there, a representative for Stribling told Mansion Global.

A representative for the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute did not immediately respond to request for comment.