In his search for a new home, Darren Spaziani, a top executive at the fashion house Louis Vuitton, was immediately drawn to the 19th-century Fitzroy Townhouses in West Chelsea.

The apartment he and his partner, the jewelry designer Philip Crangi, settled on 11 years ago, a townhouse triplex at 450 West 23rd Street, had scenic views of the historic neighborhood and its verdant gardens, not to mention ample outdoor space. It was also where the renowned poet Edwin Arlington Robinson had once lived.