Waterfront Estate in New York’s Westchester County Breaks Local Sales Records

This rambling Victorian, set on Long Island Sound and just sold for $11.3 million, as first reported by The Real Deal, has broken the record for highest priced sale in the affluent Larchmont area of New York’s pastoral Westchester County. Mimi Magarelli at Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty was the listing agent, while Lisa Collins, also of Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty, brought the anonymous buyer.

Set above Horseshoe Harbor and Larchmont Harbor, the 1.6 acre estate boasts manicured gardens, 500 feet of private shoreline with a stone bulkhead, a deep-water dock, and a jetty that creates a fab swimming area. Plus, if the buyer isn’t so keen on large bodies of murky water, they can take a dip in the crystalline waterside swimming pool and spa. One downside to all this fabulousness? The brutally high property taxes for which suburban New York is infamous, in this case an astronomical $178,000 a year.

Designed in 1898 by architect Frank Ashburton Moore, the 8,182-square-foot house retains much of its original charms, such as turrets, wraparound porches, and even a glass cupola that’s accessible by a custom steel staircase. Intricate and elegant moldings decorate most rooms, fireplaces showcase stunning tiles, and every room seems to benefit from a lovely view of boats bobbing on the water.

Set over three levels, the seven-bedroom and six-and-a-half-bath house has half a dozen places to congregate and/or relax. In addition to a half-turreted living room and a dining room that comfortably seats a dozen, there’s a billiards room, a den, a sunroom, a study, and a library. A large lounge under the high, vaulted ceiling on the third floor adds another room in which to recreate and would make a very cool teenage hangout.

All that still not enough room? An original stable on the property has been transformed into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom guest house complete with a retro kitchen.

The property has a fascinatingly quirky history; It’s known for being the former home of the Hoboken Turtle Club, founded in 1796 and reputedly the first social club in America. John Stevens, a former captain in George Washington’s Continental Army, owned a riverfront estate in Hoboken, New Jersey. The problem was that his prized European chickens, who went to scratch for clams on the riverfront, were being eaten by turtles. According to an 1878 New York Times article, Stevens saw “a huge turtle, with an arched back completely covered with moss, crept out of the river, seized an unsuspecting hen by the leg and dragged her off to his felonious retreat on the river bottom.”