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Converted 19th Century Saw Mill Selling in Manhattan for $23 Million

Over 160 years, the building also served as a stained glass workshop, art gallery and apartments

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The historic home is on Downing Street in the West Village

EVAN JOSEPH
The historic home is on Downing Street in the West Village
EVAN JOSEPH

A developer has turned a 160-year-old building—first constructed as a 19th-century saw mill—in downtown Manhattan into a sunny five-bedroom townhouse.

It hit the market Monday for $23 million.

Despite its attractive Italianate brick facade, the West Village building was constructed as a factory in 1857 with a saw mill running behind it and two adjacent buildings, according to city records on the Greenwich Village Historic District.

The five-story building later served as the workshop for one of the oldest decorative arts companies in America, J&R Lamb Studios, which specialized in ecclesiastical stained glass. In the 1960s, new owners turned the building into art galleries.

DevelopersSam Provisero and Gerard Nelligan of HPI Development LLChave given the industrial site a luxury overhaul, with 10 rooms spanning 8,250 square feet of space. The developers bought the building in 2014 for $7.1 million, according to property records.

Among its unique features is a ground-floor garage, which the developer was fighting to get the city permit for until just weeks before the listing went live, said listing agent Leonard Steinberg, president of Compass. He is co-listing the home with Herve Senequier, Amy Mendizabal and Calli Sarkesh, also of Compass.

"It’s a convenience that really matters," Mr. Steinberg said, especially for the rest of the neighborhood since it gets a car off the street.

The layout of the property, which has an elevator, includes several other quirks. For instance, a front door opens at grade level instead of the usual steps and front stoop. The front door opens onto the parlor level, which includes a sun-filled living space that leads out onto a closed greenhouse, Mr. Steinberg said.

The building dates to 1857.

EVAN JOSEPH

The greenhouse, or terrarium

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Developers added a top floor with a penthouse view

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Steps lead to the kitchen, dining and living room floor, which also benefits from a garden terrace.

The third floor of the home is dedicated for the master suite, where the developer installed a steam room and infrared sauna, according to the listing.

The developers added a sixth floor onto the original five-story structure, where floor-to-ceiling windows create a well-lit space for an office, studio or library, Mr. Steinberg said. The top floor opens out onto a roof-level terrace.

Correction:The developers of this project areSam Provisero and Gerard Nelligan.A previous version of this story misidentified the developer.