Chris Hughes, the soon-to-be-former owner of The New Republic, recently purchased a West Village townhouse for $23.5 million (after unloading his old Soho loft for $8.5 million). According to the New York Post, Hughes’ new lair on West 12th Street boasts, among other amenities, a functional underground tunnel between its main building and a “carriage house” on the same property. But that’s not at all! Here’s what else we know about Hughes’ new tunnel:

  • It is 10 feet wide
  • It is “beautifully lit” (according to a nameless source who spoke to the Post)
  • It has a screening room and a wine cellar
  • It does not resemble the tunnel used by the drug lord Joaquín Guzmán to escape Mexico’s Altiplano Prison (“‘The homes are connected via subterranean tunnel, but it’s nothing like El Chapo’s,’ joked a visitor.”)
  • It does not feel like a tunnel (“‘There’s no tunnel feel at all,’ a source marveled.”)
  • It used to be “more rustic” (“When [the previous owner] bought the home for $3.4 million in 2004, it came with a more rustic version of the tunnel, which he improved, a source said.”)

We’ve asked Hughes for photos of his new tunnel, and will update this post if we hear back. If you know more about this tunnel, drop us a line.

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