Harlem Renaissance

What: Four-story, 22-foot-wide town house with five bedrooms, 4.5 baths in 4,000 square feet.

Where: New York

Amenities: Four fireplaces, wine cellar, two outdoor decks.

Asking Price: $1.9 million

Opening Bid*: $1.7 million

Listing Agents: Richard Parnell Habersham, Corcoran Group (917) 723-2897

Due Diligence: This four-story town house was built at the turn of the century and sits in Hamilton Heights, an area in western Harlem lined with time-worn yet structurally sound brownstone, limestone and brick homes. From 1976 to 2004, it was owned by Arthur Mitchell, a founder of the Dance Theater of Harlem, who still serves as the company's artistic director. (The dance company's headquarters are a few blocks away.) A real-estate developer purchased the home last year, updating much of its interior, including its bathrooms and kitchen. The renovations preserved much of the home's original details -- carved moldings, exotic wood doors, fireplace mantels. New wood flooring was added throughout the home. Harlem has enjoyed a real-estate renaissance in recent years, as soaring home prices further downtown in Manhattan have forced buyers to search for alternatives. Sales of homes above West 116th Street and East 96th Street reached 5.5% of all sales in Manhattan last year, compared with a 3.6% share in 2003, according to a Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Report. There were 473 co-op and condo sales in Harlem last year, a 164% jump from 179 sales in 1995, the report says. 

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