Inside 80 Washington Place: How William Rainero Nailed the Greenwich Village Townhouse Renovation
A real Greenwich Village townhouse renovation is not about stuffing a brownstone with spa gear and glossy finishes. It’s about keeping the 1840s bones, then layering in modern life without erasing what made the house worth saving in the first place.
80 Washington Place is one of the rare projects that actually gets this right. Developer William Rainero took an 1840s Georgian townhouse, wrapped in Village history and once home to composer John Philip Sousa, and rebuilt it as a true luxury single family townhome in NYC—without losing the building’s soul.
If you’re planning a Greenwich Village townhouse renovation (or just want to understand what “done properly” looks like), this house is a sharp case study.
What Makes 80 Washington Place More Than Just Another $30M Flip
On paper, 80 Washington Place hits every luxury checkbox: seven levels, spa and fitness center, wine room, catering kitchen, rooftop with skyline views, and a Zen garden right off a double-height living room. That’s the brochure version.
The real story is in the restraint: the façade is restored to its original Georgian form, the stair reads as a proper townhouse spine, and exposed brick and stone keep everything grounded. The amenities are loud, but the architecture is louder. That’s the only way a “spa-like” renovation in an 1840s house doesn’t feel ridiculous.
Too many developers copy the features and skip the fundamentals. That’s how you end up with what I think of as a generic Tribeca loft wearing a brownstone costume—thin historic shell, white-box interior, zero character.
Clodagh Design’s Warm Minimalism, Not White-Box Hype
Rainero brought in Clodagh Design modern architecture, and it shows in the way the modern architecture works with the old structure instead of fighting it. The palette is tactile and warm: exposed masonry, proper wood floors, calm surfaces. Minimal, yes, but not sterile.
This matters long term. Real wood and stone age well. Controlled lighting and simple lines stay relevant. The glossy feature walls and hyper-trendy finishes you see in so many $30M listings look tired in three years. I’ve watched clients spend heavily to strip out a “cutting-edge” 2010s renovation that already felt dated.
80 Washington Place avoids that trap. It’s modern, but not trying too hard.
Layout: Why Single-Family Townhome Is the Only Sensible End Game
One of the best moves Rainero made: turning 80 Washington Place back into a true single-family house. The worst era for Greenwich Village townhouses was the rabbit-warren carve-up—partition walls, choked stairwells, and endless tiny kitchens jammed into every floor for “income.” Short-term gain, long-term value destroyer.
Here, the building lives like a proper house again:
- Two-story living room opening directly to the garden, with real southern light.
- Multi-function mezzanine and media spaces, not odd leftover rooms.
- Gourmet kitchen and separate catering kitchen, so entertaining doesn’t wreck the main kitchen.
- Full-floor primary suite with garden views and proper privacy.
- Children’s and guest levels separated, so the house can flex with family life and visitors.
- Basement-level spa, fitness, wine, and billiards where that program belongs—down, not stealing prime parlor volume.
This is exactly how a luxury single family townhome in NYC should work: clear zoning by floor, real service spaces, and generous circulation. Any plan that tries to keep rental units “for income” in a house like this is a false economy. You sacrifice livability and kill the reason buyers pay top-tier prices for these properties in the first place.
The Double-Height Living Room: The Only Drama Worth Paying For
The signature move at 80 Washington Place is the double-height living room that opens to the Zen garden. That’s the investment that actually changes how you live day to day.
Vertical volume and clean southern light will do more for your quality of life than another six figures of custom millwork ever will. Yet I still see people pour money into paneling and built-ins while living with low, chopped-up parlors that feel like afterthoughts.
If you’re renovating a Greenwich Village historic townhouse, here is the hard truth: steal square footage from anywhere except ceiling height and garden connection. Don’t cram a floor in where you could have a tall room. Don’t wall off the back where you could have steel and glass opening to the garden. Drama should come from light and height, not gimmicks.
At 80 Washington Place, that two-story living room is the anchor. It connects the house vertically, pulls light deep into the plan, and makes the garden feel like an extension of the room, not an afterthought at the back of a dark corridor.
The Zen Garden: Why Most Urban “Zen” Gardens Fail
Every listing now wants a “Zen garden urban townhouse” moment. Most of them miss the point entirely.
Rainero’s garden at 80 Washington Place works because it’s edited and quiet. One clear hardscape language, a controlled planting scheme, and a singular focal element—stone, water, or sculptural planting. That’s it.
When I see seven materials, a built-in grill, fairy lights, lounge seating, and an outdoor kitchen crammed into 30 square meters, I’m not looking at a Zen garden. I’m looking at a hotel amenity deck.
If you want a genuinely calm garden off your living room, use this rule of thumb: one dominant material underfoot (stone or timber, not both fighting each other), one primary plant species in repetition, and one focal piece. Anything more reads as visual noise. And noise is the opposite of Zen.
