From High Seas to Big Apple

Shipping executive Peter Georgiopoulos has purchased one of the largest townhouses in New York's Greenwich Village for $7.7 million. Mr. Georgiopoulos is chief executive of General Maritime Corp., a large transporter of crude oil. New York developer Daniel Kohs sold the house, public records show; the asking price was $8.1 million. Messrs. Georgiopoulos and Kohs couldn't be reached for comment. Corcoran Group, the New York real-estate firm that handled the sale, recently released details of the July purchase of the 8,000-square-foot residence on Charles Street. The residence includes two townhouses and a carriage house recently converted into one living space, according to Corcoran's Joan Kaplan, the agent on the sale. Built in the 1850s, the home underwent extensive renovations in 2002 when it was first put on the market. The four-story residence has seven bathrooms, eight wood-burning fireplaces, a large garden and two rooftop terraces. MTV Networks leased the house in 2003 to film several "Making the Band 2" episodes. The deal adds to an already strong real-estate market in New York, where the median price for a Manhattan apartment surged to $649,000 in the third quarter of this year, an increase of 34% over the year-earlier quarter, according to a report by Brown Harris Stevens.