House of the Day: 70 Lefferts Place

The 1854 James and Lucy S. Ellwell House was saved from demolition by a last-minute landmarking in 2006, then converted to an illegal hostel by that same owner, after a failed sales attempt. Now it is back on the market for $2,500,000, which is $100,000 more than the developer paid in 2006. It appears to have changed hands twice in the last two years, for $515,000 and $850,000, both to LLCs, after a lis pendens was filed in 2009, according to PropertyShark. All that aside, the house is a quite beautiful mid-19th century wood frame, with a rooftop cupola and plenty of original details still left on the inside. An open house is scheduled for Wednesday, May 22. What do you make of it all?
70 Lefferts Place [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark