The attractive, five-story, red-brick building at 231-5 East 17th Street facing Stuyvesant Square has been bought for $10.25 million by Vesta Development from the Hazelden Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting people with alcohol and drug addictions.

The new owners plan to convert the 31,000-square-foot building at 13 luxury condominium apartments.

The east part of the building was erected in 1877 and designed by Emlen T. Little and the west part of the building was built in 1883 and designed by Charles C. Haight. Originally it was the St. John the Baptist House and eventually it was taken over by the Salvation Army and then the Hazelden Foundation, the famous Minnesota rehab.

In their book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City Architecture, Fourth Edition" (Three Rivers Press, 2000), Elliot Willensky and Norval White described the building, which is in the Stuyvesant Square Historic District, as "picturesque, asymmetrical Victorian Gothic."

The building has a 10-step stoop with a canopy and several of the windows on the first and second floors have windowless arched tops. The building has a two-story-high chapel, sidewalk landscaping, high ceilings and protruding air-conditioners.

"Pricing on this sale reflects the state of today's competitive market, as demand for condominiums in Manhattan is at an all-time high," according to Peter Hauspurg, the chairman of Eastern Consolidated Properties, which arranged the sale. "The property sold briskly and enjoyed multiple bids," he said, "because of its stellar location close to both Union Square and the East Village, as well as because of its landmark status and residential zoning designation."

Stuyvesant Square is similar in size and quality to nearby Gramercy Park and it is also convenient to the Flatiron district and Greenwich Village.

This property is just to the north of St. George's Church, which used to be patronized by J. P. Morgan, the financier.