Almost exactly a decade after they purchased their West Village co-operative apartment from R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and her artist partner Susan Mikula have put it back up for sale at $2.35 million, as was first reported by the New York Post. Considering they bought the fourth-floor unit from the indie rock star for $1.25 million, the couple will reap a hefty financial reward if they get anywhere near their asking price. Their potential windfall is, however, offset by recent and extensive renovations that included the installation of all-new finishes and infrastructure.
Listing photographs give few clues about the political commentator’s lifestyle, as the roughly 1,400-square-foot spread — spacious for Manhattan but modest for a left-wing broadcast journalist who reportedly hauls in about $7 million a year — has been decluttered of all personal effects and generically staged to attract the largest swath of buyers. However, what listing photos do reveal is that Maddow and Mikula lived in a light-filled and stylishly cool 2 bedroom and 1.5 bath loft-style space with newly installed hickory wood floors, original exposed wood support beams and, from the huge picture window over the kitchen sink, a lovely view of the Hudson River.
The generously wide entrance hall has not just one but two coat closets, and the living room area features a wood-burning minimalist fireplace clad in charcoal-colored Virginia soap stone, along with custom built-ins that hide media equipment. The dining space, which showcases a glitzy modern chandelier, sits alongside a high-end albeit pint-sized kitchen where honed white marble countertops on simple, snow-white cabinets are offset by top-end designer stainless steel appliances. A long hall, off of which opens a powder room, leads to the bedrooms. The smaller bedroom does not have a closet (and is dressed up as a study/office), while the primary bedroom offers a small walk-in closet and a deluxe, marble-sheathed bathroom.
The six-story red-brick building where the apartment is located dates to 1898, and was originally used as a paper warehouse. It sits along one of the West Village’s most charming cobblestone streets and has an attended lobby.
Maddow and Mikula have presumably moved on to another Manhattan home more in keeping with their sky-high income. However, they also maintain a historic pre-Civil War era farmhouse with a custom-built bathhouse — where the only television on the property is located — on about 12 bucolic acres in the drop-dead-gorgeous Berkshires area in Western Massachusetts.
Mary Vetri of Brown Harris Stevens is the listing agent.