Andrew Rannells had just finished a long stint on the TV series “Girls” when he spotted a listing for a triplex across the street from his rental building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
“As a young student and a young, struggling actor, I never thought I’d be able to actually buy something here,” Mr. Rannells said.
But by 2018, when the listing popped up in his email inbox, his career had taken off and he had many movies and shows on his credit list. After seeing the apartment, a co-op unit in a converted four-story townhouse on West 24th Street, he “completely fell in love,” he said.
“My mom happened to be visiting from Omaha and came to see it and also fell in love with it,” he added.
Mr. Rannells paid $2.1 million for the triplex, his first home purchase in New York, and over the years made a few cosmetic changes, removing wallpaper as well as replacing light fixtures and the kitchen backsplash. But he ended up spending far less time there than he had anticipated. “I bought it, then immediately booked ‘Black Monday’ in L.A., did that for three years back and forth between here and L.A., and filmed the movie ‘Boys in the Band.’”
Along the way he fell in love again — this time with his co-star in “The Boys in the Band,” Tuc Watkins, who lives in Los Angeles with his twins. “We just don’t get here as often as I like as much as it pains me,” Mr. Rannells said, explaining his decision to sell the Chelsea apartment.
The asking price is $2.395 million, according to Michael Russell of the Corcoran Group, who is a personal friend of Mr. Rannells and the same agent who had sent him the listing seven years ago. Monthly maintenance is $3,143. Mr. Russell is marketing the home with his colleagues Caroline Holl and Stephen Geller.
The apartment, one of eight units, sits on the top three levels of the four-story, 1850 Greek Revival brick building between Ninth and 10th Avenues, about a block from the High Line.
“It feels like a little house,” Mr. Rannells said. “It had a cozy, homey feel to it, which was why I immediately jumped on buying it.”
The apartment, which has hardwood floors throughout, encompasses around 1,400 square feet, with two bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a half-bath. There’s also a study/den that could be converted into a third bedroom. The home is decorated in traditional and midcentury modern furnishings, with many items Mr. Rannells had collected from flea markets.
“It’s in mint condition — move-in ready,” Mr. Russell said. “You don’t really have to do any renovating.”
The entry to the triplex, up two flights of stairs, is on its first level, where there is an open kitchen, powder room and a spacious living room and dining area.
The living space is anchored by a decorative fireplace flanked by built-in bookcases. The kitchen is equipped with high-end appliances, white tile backsplash, marble countertops, a breakfast bar and a porcelain farmhouse sink.
“It’s very open concept, you feel like you can cook and entertain,” said Mr. Rannells, who has hosted Thanksgiving dinners there with family and friends.
The second level has a bedroom with a large walk-in closet, a full bathroom, a laundry area and the study.
The primary bedroom takes up the top floor. It features a 140-square-foot terrace and several skylights that extend into the en suite bathroom, which, Mr. Russell said, gives the feeling that you’re taking an outdoor shower.
The terrace was among Mr. Rannells’s favorite spots in the apartment. “I ended up writing a lot up there — I tend to write in the morning with my coffee,” he said. “The terrace faces the back of building so it’s pretty quiet.”
His books include the 2019 memoir “Too Much Is Not Enough,” and he has published Modern Love and Opinion essays in The New York Times. Among his numerous acting credits onstage and onscreen are starring roles in “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway and in the “A Simple Favor” movies with Blake Lively.
Mr. Rannells will miss the Chelsea neighborhood and Manhattan overall — “All of my early adult years were spent in New York,” he said — but he also isn’t ruling out buying there again someday.
And it could actually happen at any time. “A surefire way to get me back is to book another show in New York,” he said, adding jokingly, “The second I sell this apartment the phone is probably gonna ring and I’ll have another job in New York.”
The post Andrew Rannells Lists His Chelsea Triplex for $2.395 Million appeared first on New York Times.
