I can’t tell you the number of Manhattanites who move across the river, assuming that their social lives will stay in Manhattan, only to discover that there’s plenty to do right here in Hoboken.

Peter Cossio went two steps further, joining the boards of the Hoboken Historical Museum and the Shade Tree Commission.

Now a broker with Halstead, Cossio came over here to invest in real estate. He and his wife, Clare, were living in a rent-stabilized apartment. The price was right, but the size wasn’t, especially since kids were in their future.

They started out in 2001 in a small condo on Bloomfield. A couple of years later they moved to Maxwell Place.

They bought their current home on Tenth Street in 2008. In need of renovation, the house was ready for prime time in 2009. Originally a four-family, it occupies four floors. In the beginning they had a tenant in the garden level, but now the space comes in handy for overnight guests.

On the parlor floor is a living room, kitchen, and dining room, overlooking the garden on Bloomfield.

There are five bedrooms. On the second floor is the master bedroom with an ensuite bath, a laundry room, an office, and another bedroom.

Above that are two bedrooms and a bath for the kids, Sophie, 11, and Lily, 9.

This 1870s townhouse satisfied the Cossios’ love and respect for historic structures. Peter was enamored of the original moldings; damaged ones were restored during the renovation process. “It was quite interesting,” he says. “Silicone molds were drying in different rooms.”

The Victorian home was built in the Italianate style, which was popular at the time, with many Italian immigrants doing the work.

Peter notes an unusual feature of the house are metal lintels, painted to look like brownstone; most lintels are stone or brick.

A popular practice at the time was to build anywhere from two to four homes in a row with a shared cornice that peaks in the middle.

“I find it interesting,” Peter says. “The quality of the homes built back then was high, and there’s a certain value in preserving history through time and making it so that modern families can live in homes where they can appreciate the history.” When you restore them, he says, you make the interiors attractive to modern families.

“We had the opportunity to take a house that was chopped up for four families and make it into a single-family, which is what it was originally,” Peter says, “and restore some of the original architectural features, such as the molding.”

When these houses were first built, the kitchens were usually on the garden level. The Cossio kitchen, as with many such renovations, is on the parlor floor. “The kitchen is the place where everyone congregates,” Peter says. “It’s the heart of the home and the most dramatic space, with high ceilings and ornate historical details.”

Back in the day, there was a Downton Abbey feel to the place, with cooks coming in every day to prepare meals, which were sent to the family upstairs.

In contemporary times, the Cossio kids have been attending All Saints Episcopal Day School since they were in nursery school.

“We spend a lot of time here,” Cossio says. “It’s a great community. I live and work here and ride my bike to work. It’s a nice way to live. The kids walk to school and play in Elysian Park.”

The Cossios are invested in the town. “I make sure Hoboken is taken care of,” Peter says, “by helping to preserve history and making sure the trees are healthy.”

Except for visiting museums, there is no need to go back to Manhattan. “Everything is here,” he says, “whether it’s yoga class for kids or great bars and restaurants.”