From: The New York Observer March 13, 2005
by: Michael Calderone

(Excerpted from a larger article)

Actress Keri Russell’s dorm days may be over, but like a fifth-year senior, she’s staying close to campus. Ms. Russell recently purchased a West Ninth Street co-op for $1.375 million, a few blocks from Washington Square Park. She signed the contract in late November on the prewar apartment, which originally listed at $1.495 million. And to Ms. Russell’s relief, the co-op board recently gave the thumbs-up to the deal.

The 28-year-old curly-tressed actress and former Mouseketeer is best known for her starring role on Felicity, the young-adult drama that premiered on the WB network in 1998, in which she played student Felicity Porter, who attended the University of New York (a thinly veiled N.Y.U.). After a brief hiatus, the actress has hit her stride again, on both stage and screen. She recently performed in Neil LaBute’s play Fat Pig, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, and she can be seen at the movies as Joan Allen’s daughter in The Upside of Anger, opening March 11. And, with Ms. Russell’s West Ninth Street purchase, Manhattan is no longer merely her fictional home.

The 1,150-square-foot duplex has two bedrooms and two baths, and it’s located on the townhouse’s top floors. The lower level features a dining room, living room and smaller bedroom; Ms. Russell’s master bedroom is on the upper level. With two terraces and a total exterior space of approximately 525 feet, the actress will enjoy a commanding view of the tree-lined street below (complete with N.Y.U. students passing by). There’s also a built-in barbecue for summertime cookouts.

Built in the late 19th century, this Louis XIII French-classic-style townhouse was renovated extensively in the 1970’s.

"The façade is magnificent," said Jane Kronick of Warburg Realty, who brokered the deal alongside Andrea Leppart. "It’s one of the nicest buildings in the Village."

Laudatory words from the broker are to be expected, right? Well, on this deal, Ms. Kronick was not only thinking of the commission, but also seeking the future owner of her own residence! Ms. Kronick purchased the apartment in 1977 for $69,000, after inheriting $75,000 worth of I.B.M. stock from her grandfather. According to Ms. Kronick, New York magazine featured the building’s prized front doors in a 1984 photo spread as the "Best in Greenwich Village." Not surprisingly, the listing on Warburg Realty’s Web site sought more than just an ambitious buyer with loads of cash, stating that "this is a special, rare gem that needs some TLC to make it a unique home."

And what attracted Ms. Russell to the place?

"She liked it because it was in very original condition," said Ms. Kronick. "It has two nice-sized outside decks. It’s the penthouse, so there is no noise, [and] a beautiful bedroom with a skylight window."

Yet the final stumbling block, as usual, was the pesky co-op board, which often frowns upon celebrity residents, fearing they’ll throw endless rowdy parties featuring a stream of Hollywood’s young troublemakers. But with Ms. Kronick’s flattering recommendation—which helped to convince the board that Ms. Russell is no Courtney Love–style party monster—the actress passed a difficult test that no amount of late-night cramming on her old TV show could have prepared her for.

"The co-op board finally approved me," Ms. Russell recounted in the March 7 Newsweek. "I went in wearing my most modest shirt and tried to be the most prim-and-proper version of myself that I could be."

Ms. Russell is currently on location in Germany and couldn’t be reached for comment.