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A pr i l 2016 93 House of tHe MontH Colin W. Sargent photoscourtesyremaxoceanside This classic John Calvin Stevens row house illustrates the market. Even Stevens the not-so-good old days as well as a service toilet and slate-double sink in the fieldstone basement which seems big and dry bullet- glass third-floor transom with access to the roof and sunshine everywhere a ghostly sense of the song Chelsea Morning flood- ed into my mind during the tour before I learned about the Stoddards. Drawbacks The furnace works but isnt new. A plus Two other end-units on this same row of townhouses are for sale at high- er prices 17 West is listed for 829000 and is under contract 21 West is listed at 825000 and is still available according to the listing agent but there is no off-street parking with this unit. So it could be con- strued that a parking spot in this immediate neighborhood is worth 100000. But only the buyers can tell us that. When a future buyer decides to buy this lovely home the agent feels he or shell be standing near one of the two original fire- places or in the kitchen which features two tall windows looking out on a remarkable privategardenoverhungbybranchesfroman immense oak tree out back. The west walk- way off West Street might be wide enough for a Smart Car but that would require permis- sionandacurbcutandweretoldthecityhas already turned down this request. Meanwhile theres a sense of anticipa- tion about this house even suspense Who- ever buys it this spring will define the mar- ket. Taxes are 8162. n T his landmark townhouse on 27 West Street in Portland is a canary in the coal shaft of local real-estate desire. Designed by John Calvin Stevens in 1910 its an end unit of a handsome brick row of J.B. Brown properties that leased to ten- ants for nearly seven decades. A background email forwarded from the sellers identifies art professor Brooks Stoddard and his wife a Waynflete instructor as the first to buy it as a single-family home in 1978 but she passed away before they could move in. Her sisterfollowed by others including a series of Maine Med nursesrented it until 2005 when it sold for 500000 to the present sell- ers William M. Nelligan and Deborah E. Boyajian. Technically we are the first own- er-occupants Boyajian notes. Now for the canary Beginning in 2009 after thoughtful restorations Nelligan and Boyajian have offered it for sale with the listing zigzagging from 619000 in Aug. 2009 to 599000 Sept. 2009 removed from sale Nov. 2009 569000 Jan. 2011 539900 Aug. 2011 539500 Oct. 2011 519900 Oct. 2011 removed Jan. 2012 519900 Apr. 2012 removed Nov. 2012 498500 Dec. 17 2012 removed from sale a day later 735000 Jun. 2015 719000 Oct. 2015 and the present 699900. Improvements to this 10-room six-bed- room single-family home include new roof St. Hilaire Roofers custom side walkway Krista Butterfield garden by James Mc- Cain new brick walkways and granite step all wood floors restored gutted redesigned kitchen and more. The dumbfounding soundness of the construction is pure Ste- vens. So is the polyhedral Harry Potter door below the formal stairway. The but- lers and kitchen pantries are luscious with original cabinetry. Everythings in good nick and in pleasing proportion the deft and balanced legacy of a master architect. Of interest Its an end unit among the townhouses. The 3x3 terra-cotta tiles atop the granite stoop match the hearths of the two fireplaces one in the salon one di- rectly upstairs in a bedroom. The full pantry with Carrara marble counter has an L of deep shelves stacked four tiers high to nearly 11-foot ceilings. The two staircases meet on the second floor like morning and evening. There are service annunciator bells from