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    Richard Gere Gets $10.75 Million for His Bucolic Connecticut Estate

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    Now that he’s announced a move to Spain to be closer to his publicist wife Alejandra Silva’s family in Madrid, Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Gere has unsurprisingly handed over the keys to the sprawling Connecticut estate he paid married musicians Paul Simon and Edie Brickell $10.8 million for a little more than two years ago, back in summer 2022.

    “For me, going to Madrid is going to be a great adventure because I have never lived full-time outside the United States,” the Pretty Woman star said in a recent Vanity Fair España article. “For Alejandra, it will be wonderful to be closer to her family, her lifelong friends, and her culture. She was very generous in giving me six years living in my world, so I think it is only fair that I give her at least another six living in hers.”

    As first reported by the New Canaan Advertiser, Gere and Silva have now offloaded their New Canaan residence to an LLC tied to James Hoffman of the general contracting and real estate development company SBP Homes, which picked up the nearly 32-acre spread in a clandestine deal in early October for $10.75 million.

    Built in the late 1930s and designed by architect Harold Reeve Sleeper, the rambling estate features a five-bedroom, nine-bath English country-style main house and a three-bedroom, two-bath guest cottage that Simon previously used as a recording studio. Outdoor amenities include a swimming pool, terraced patios, gardens, woodland trails, a natural pond, and a waterfall.

    RELATED: This $9.2 Million Mansion in Connecticut Has a Hidden Staircase to Your Bedroom

    Because the deal was done off-market, current photos are scarce. But on-line listings from a few years ago show the primary dwelling has an entry foyer with a winding staircase topped by a chandelier. From there, a spacious fireside living room is lined with built-in shelving and the kitchen is outfitted with an eat-in island, stainless appliances, and an accompanying breakfast nook. Other highlights include a wood-paneled study and an airy sunroom that doubles as an office space, plus an upstairs primary suite decked out with a wood-burning fireplace, a private balcony, and a cedar closet. There’s also an attached three-car garage on the premises.

    Before Gere and Silva purchased the home at a substantially reduced price, Simon and Brickell resided there for almost two decades, paying $16.5 million for the place in 2002. As for Gere, he reportedly had plans to convert part of the New Canaan property into a private, low-impact farm for growing mushrooms and providing honey, as well as raising goats.

    The Buddhist actor, who sold a two-bedroom apartment in a historic building in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park in 2022 for $3.15 million, has owned several other notable homes with celebrity connections. He transferred a waterfront compound in the Hamptons back in 2016 to Matt Lauer for a whopping $36.5 million, and in 2022 Ryan Murphy shelled out a bit more than $24 million for Gere’s 50-acre spread in New York’s rural Pound Ridge community. More

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      Designer Reed Krakoff Seeks $25.5 Million for the Connecticut Estate of a Reclusive Late Heiress

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      A 52-acre estate in New Canaan, Connecticut, with the tongue-in-cheek name of Le Beau Chateau and previously owned for more than 60 years by the late and reclusive copper-mining heiress Huguette Clark, has been listed for $25.5 million. Rob Johnson and Mary Higgins of Brown Harris Stevens hold the listing.

      Though she was free to leave at any time, for two decades before her 2011 death at the age of 104, Clark lived quietly and simply at a reported cost of more than $800 a day in a Manhattan hospital room overlooking Central Park. During her long life, the doll collector and painter amassed a portfolio of rarely- and never-used homes that included a trio of sprawling co-operative apartments in the same aristocratic building on New York’s Fifth Avenue, a grand Italianate villa overlooking the ocean in Santa Barbara, and Le Beau Chateau, which she bought in 1951 as a potential refuge from a nuclear attack during the Cold War but, curiously enough, never spent a single night in.

      The Manhattan apartments were sold off shortly after she died for a combined $55 million, and the Santa Barbara mansion, known as Bellosguardo, which she had not visited in half a century, was bequeathed to a foundation that now offers limited docent tours.

      Geometric artworks add contemporary flair to the dining room’s period fireplace.

      James Gagliardi of Modern Media

      Clark’s unoccupied but always maintained Connecticut spread, which she had unsuccessfully attempted to sell a couple of times in the years before her death, was acquired in 2014 for $14 million—a steep discount from the original asking price of $34 million—by veteran fashion designer and tastemaker Reed Krakoff and interior designer Delphine Krakoff. The design- and architecture-savvy couple subsequently oversaw a respectful restoration and careful update that included the seamless integration of modern conveniences and luxuries.

      A long drive passes between a pair of modest cottages—a two-bedroom caretaker’s residence and a 1,300-square-foot exercise pavilion—and weaves across the property before arriving at a large motor court at the front of the 21-room French-style manor house that was originally built in 1937. Across the nearly 15,000-square-foot mansion’s three floors are nine bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, plus four additional powder rooms. Three of the 11 original fireplaces are still functional.

      RELATED: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tirranna House in New Canaan Just Sold for $6 Million

      The Krakoffs opted for a neutral color palette of creams and beiges, with plush fabrics and art-friendly cotton-white walls that keep things light and bright. Antique chevron-patterned wood floors are underfoot throughout much of the main floor public rooms, as well as in many of the upper-floor bedrooms. Other highlights include a sweeping circular staircase, a vast living room alongside an equally spacious library, and a formal dining room jazzed up with a thoroughly modern, mold-like Cloud sculpture of interchangeable fabric tiles by French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

      The spacious primary bath showcases antique statuary, Louis VX-style chairs and a Lucite vanity.

      James Gagliardi of Modern Media

      RELATED: The Chic Connecticut Estate From ‘The Stepford Wives’ Could Now Be Yours for $7 Million

      To one side of the house is a formal garden, and at the rear, a vast lawn rolls down toward a simple rectangular pool hemmed in by a clipped hedgerow. A reconditioned tennis court is set in a sunny clearing near the estate’s gated entrance, while dense woodlands ensure complete privacy from neighboring estates.

      The Krakoffs, who maintain a Parisian hôtel particulier, have bought and sold a hefty number of other noteworthy homes on the East Coast. They sold a Manhattan townhouse in 2007 to Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, and in 2014 they sold an even more grand Big Apple townhouse for a staggering $51 million. And in the Hamptons, they once owned Lasata, the childhood summer residence of Jackie Kennedy. (It is now owned by fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford.) The couple has since custom built a striking new home in the Hamptons, a series of ultra-modern bunker-like glass and concrete pavilions overlooking the sandy dunes in Amagansett.

      Click here for more photos of the New Canaan estate.

      James Gagliardi of Modern Media More

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      Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue’s Former Connecticut Hideaway Lists for a Record $27.5 Million

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      A waterfront mansion in Connecticut once owned by Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue has returned to market seeking a whopping $27.5 million. 

      Back in 2007, the entertainment industry veterans built their dream home on the shore of Long Island Sound, designed by local Westport architect Roger Ferris + Partners. The television icons, who married back in 1980, later offloaded their sprawling Beachside Avenue property in 2013 to its current owner Andrew Bentley. At the time, the local property magnate shelled out a cool $20 million for the shingle-style colonial, Mansion Global reported. Bentley also snagged several parcels nearby, including two that formerly belonged to disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

      Arched French doors offer up to sweeping views of the Long Island Sound.

      Compass

      The Gold Coast home, currently Westport’s most expensive listing, was briefly on the market in 2020 for $28 million. Now that the spread is back up for sale—albeit with a slight discount—it stands to set a record for the area if it fetches anywhere near its whopping $27.5 million asking price.

      RELATED: A Former Grey Goose Exec Re-lists a Sprawling Connecticut Home for $28.5 Million

      Measuring 11,450 square feet in size, the rambling residence occupies a generous 6.6-acre plot with 400 feet of private waterfrontage, along with a cobblestone courtyard and manicured gardens. Altogether, the home features five bedrooms and five full bathrooms, plus a powder room, and throughout are striking coastal views in every direction thanks to walls of windows and French doors that open to broad terraces bordered by plush lawns.

      Other notable highlights include a south-facing patio that can be reached via the main living room, sunroom, and kitchen. Plus, the primary suite has been decked out with rustic barn wood ceilings, a recently redesigned sitting area, and a sleek spa-like bath and dressing room. The property also features a guest wing with its own separate entrance, a full-size tennis pavilion, a home gym, and four garages.

      The primary suite faces the water and features barn wood ceilings.

      Compass

      “There are no other properties with the expanse of land, amount of waterfront and level of luxury home available for purchase,” Compass agent Leslie Clarke, who’s representing the listing, told Mansion Global. “Beachside Avenue is a coveted address and it’s rare for properties to come on the market.” 

      RELATED: A $25 Million Private Island in Connecticut That’s Just 40 Minutes From Manhattan

      Funnily enough, the standing record in Westport for the town most expensive home was set in 2006 when Donahue and Thomas offloaded another waterfront home on Beachside Avenue that they owned to financier Herbert M. Allison, Jr. for $25 million. Since sold again, the current owners of the property, Peggy and Gary Reiner, have built a huge new house closer to the water’s edge and, as of last year, planned to demolish the original Tudor-style home.

      Click here to see more photos of Thomas and Donahue’s former Connecticut home.

      Compass

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      Abby Montanez

      Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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      The Real-Life Connecticut Estate From ‘And So It Goes’ Just Listed for $8.6 Million

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      If you wish you could’ve been the buyer of Michael Douglas’s fictional Connecticut mansion from the 2014 movie And So It Goes, the real-life property is now on the market for one deep-pocketed fan to purchase.

      The Rob Reiner-directed flick follows Douglas’s character, Oren Little, a high-end Fairfield County real estate agent who’s trying to offload his priciest listing to date—his own Greenwich estate. Hoping for one last big sale before he retires, viewers get to see a lot of the residence as Oren hosts different showings.

      Interestingly enough, the just shy of $8.6 million asking price is right around the same as what Oren was hoping to get. Sadly, however, Diane Keaton, who co-stars as Leah Hartman, won’t be your neighbor. Joy Kim Metalios with Houlihan Lawrence has the listing. 

      The Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion that starred in the 2014 movie And So It Goes is for sale.

      Mike Cinelli/Jump Visual

      The ivy-covered Colonial, which dates back to 1930, was originally built by J. Alden and Quentin Twachtman, a brotherly 19th-century architect duo and the sons of American painter John Henry Twachtman. The brick-clad abode is positioned on roughly four acres and features a ton of outdoor amenities like a clay tennis court, a swimming pool, and an adjoining pool house. 

      Today, the 7,691-square-foot spread looks virtually unchanged from when it appeared on screen. You’ll find that everything from the smartly wallpapered dining room to the light fixtures, hardwood flooring, and French doors are intact. Several years prior to filming, the five-bedroom, eight-bath home underwent a renovation that included updates to the scullery kitchen, family room, and guest wing.

      The formal dining room features a fireplace, wood floors, and floral wallpaper.

      Mike Cinelli/Jump Visual

      Other highlights of the estate include a wood-paneled library, a slate patio, and, of course, the primary suite, which is decked out with a cozy fireplace, two bathrooms, and a large dressing room. And yes, Douglas did rest his head here.

      Click here to see all the photos of 131 Pecksland Road. 

      Mike Cinelli/Jump Visual More

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      Tommy Hilfiger’s Former Connecticut Estate Hits the Market for $9.7 Million

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      Tommy Hilfiger has racked up quite the real estate portfolio, and now a Connecticut estate formerly owned by the fashion mogul has hit the market. 

      The palatial pad sits on over five sprawling acres in Greenwich, tucked away on a private country lane. Asking just shy of $9.7 million, the English manor-style home dates back to 1932 and has undergone significant updates since, including a slew of renovations in 2014 by its present owners. Altogether, the extensive spread comprises a 7,438-square-foot main house, a guest apartment above the garage, and a poolside cabana. There’s also a professional tennis court where former owner, Wojciech Fibak, and eight-time Grand Slam champ Ivan Lendl used to play—so you know it’s legit. 

      Tommy Hilfiger’s former home in Greenwich, Connecticut is up for sale.

      Kyle Norton

      Inside, the brick-and-stucco abode is decked out with tons of period details like wood floors, high ceilings, preserved moldings, and decorative wainscoting. Other highlights include its four fireplaces, multiple patios, and arched doorways.

      While nearly all the rooms are impressive, the study is definitely a showstopper with its fancy plaster tracery ceiling. Elsewhere, the first floor holds formal living and dining rooms, a spacious family room with a bar, and a large chef’s kitchen. The latter feels super bright and airy thanks to all-white cabinets and countertops, and nearby is a beautifully detailed breakfast nook with parquet floors.  The second floor is where you’ll find all six bedrooms, with the primary suite occupying its own private wing with a sitting room, a cozy fireplace, a dressing room, and dual baths.

      The English manor-style home was originally built in the 1930s and has since been renovated.

      Realty Plans

      The manicured grounds are tough to beat, designed by Southampton-based landscape architect Perry Guillott, while the charming pool house, entered via a wisteria-covered terrace that sports two hanging swings, boasts two baths, a kitchenette, and a game area.

      Ellen Mosher and Julie Church of Houlihan Lawrence have the listing. 

      Click here to see all the photos of Tommy Hilfiger’s former Greenwich estate.

      Kyle Norton More

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      Mary Tyler Moore’s Bucolic Connecticut Retreat Could Be Yours for $22 Million

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      If you’ve always wanted to turn the world on with a smile, this Connecticut compound could be just the ticket! As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the picturesque 7-acre spread long owned by the late TV and film actress Mary Tyler Moore has just popped up for sale in the coastal town of Greenwich, asking nearly $22 million.

      Records show the beloved star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and her husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine, paid around $10 million back in 2006 for the property, which is showcased by a Georgian Colonial-style house boasting five bedrooms and nine baths in nearly 14,000 square feet of living space accented throughout with dentil molding, bay windows, Venetian plaster walls, wood-beam ceilings and numerous fireplaces. There’s also a guest apartment resting atop an attached three-car garage.

      Built over a century ago, but extensively renovated and expanded during the couple’s tenure in collaboration with architect Stephen Wang, the fieldstone-clad structure features an elevator to all three levels, a double-height solarium, laundry room sporting a dog shower and grooming station, and gym equipped with a spa, sauna, and massage and steam rooms.

      Some of the solarium’s windows include stained glass culled from churches and synagogues.

      Daniel Milstein for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Other highlights include an entry foyer displaying harlequin-patterned floors, a curving staircase and wall of windows, as well as formal living and dining rooms, an office with its own powder room and a wood-paneled billiard room/library outfitted with built-in bookcases. A “comfortably scaled” kitchen with an eat-in island and high-end stainless appliances connects to a breakfast nook and family room, which has French doors spilling out to an al fresco dining patio.

      Secluded in its own upstairs wing is a 2,000-square-foot master retreat complete with dual walk-in closets and luxe baths; and outdoors, the Janice Parker-landscaped grounds are laced with stone terraces and bordered by 5 acres of conservation land, and host a pond and 65-foot pool flanked by a fireplace.

      According to WSJ, Levine is selling because it’s necessary for him to move on after the death of his wife, who passed away in 2017 at age 80. “If I’m going to step into my ‘what next?’,” he said, “I decided I have to step away from the house.” The retired cardiologist also told the news outlet that a portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, a foundation that works to preserve and restore vision in people with diabetes.

      The listing is held by Joseph Barbieri of Sotheby’s International Realty-Greenwich Brokerage.

      Click here for more photos of Mary Tyler Moore’s Connecticut House.

      Daniel Milstein for Sotheby’s International Realty More

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      Tommy Hilfiger’s Ex-Wife Lists Greenwich Estate For $40 Million

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      Front Exterior

      LOCATION: 591 Riversville Road, Greenwich, Connecticut
      SQUARE FOOTAGE: 13,343
      BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 7 bedrooms & 13 bathrooms
      PRICE: $40,000,000
      Susie Hilfiger, the ex-wife of fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger (his first wife), has just listed her 17 acre estate. Known as “Denbigh Farm”, the property was purchased by the couple in 1995 for $8.5 million.

      The colonial style home features approximately 13,343 square feet of living space with 7 bedrooms & 13 bathrooms.
      Outdoor features include a gated entrance, motor court, patios, water features, swimming pool, tennis court, playhouse, playground, treehouse, formal gardens, equestrian facilities and more.
      It is listed at $40,000,000. More

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      Tommy Hilfiger Lists Connecticut Estate For $47.5 Million

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      Aerial

      LOCATION: 30 John Street, Greenwich, Connecticut
      SQUARE FOOTAGE: 13,344
      BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 6 bedrooms & 11 bathrooms
      PRICE: $47,500,000

      Fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger has just listed his 22 acre Connecticut estate for $47.5 million. Located at 30 John Street in Greenwich, Connecticut, the historic English style home was built in 1939 and features approximately 13,344 square feet of living space with 6 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, foyer with staircase, formal living & dining rooms, gourmet kitchen, breakfast room, family room with wet bar, home theater, gym and more.
      There is also a 2 bedroom guesthouse.
      Outdoor features include a gated entrance, patios, gardens, swimming pool and a tennis court. More

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      Designer Vince Camuto’s Spectacular French Chateau-Style Mansion in Connecticut Is Heading to Auction

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      Last listed for $26.6 million, the spectacular 13-bedroom Greenwich mansion goes under the virtual hammer next month.
      The lovingly restored French chateau-like estate owned by the late fashion designer Vince Camuto—he cofounded shoe brand Nine West and sold it in 1999 for $900 million—is being auctioned off at no reserve.
      Built in 1927, the 16,300-square-foot Chateau Ridge in Greenwich’s tony Round Hill enclave will be sold through a Concierge Auctions no-reserve online sale. Bidding kicks off Wednesday August 12 and ends Saturday August 15.

      Camuto and his wife Louise rescued the dilapidated manor in 1984 and proceeded to lavish a small fortune on its restoration. They commissioned builder-to-the-stars Jimmy Xhema—last year he restored Tommy and Dee Hilfiger’s 1939 Greenwich mansion—to do the work.
      The result was nothing less than spectacular. Highlights include a beamed Great Hall that stretches 91 feet, and the so-called Constellation Room that features a 40-foot-high domed ceiling with fiber-optic stars to replicate the night sky on Camuto’s birth date, June 4, 1936.
      Avid collectors, the Camutos filled the place to overflowing with an array of 17th and 18th century European treasures.
      The pool at the late Vince Camuto’s Greenwich chateau.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      Take the master suite—the listing describes it as a “master sanctuary”— which features an oval sitting room and private study lined with the work of 17th-century English master-carver Grinling Gibbons. For the dressing room there’s a jaw-dropping hall of mirrors with miles of ornate gold-leaf plasterwork.
      The formal gardens.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      On the manicured grounds—the estate covers 4.66 acres—there’s a two-story stone tennis house alongside the Har-Tru clay court. The magnificent sunken swimming pool with its arched columns features a poolhouse, grotto and spa. Close by, there’s a luxurious two-bedroom guest house, and five detached garages with space for seven cars. The list of highlights is seemingly endless.
      The house was built in 1927.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      The main house itself looks like it was plucked straight out of 17th century French Renaissance Normandy, with its steeply-pitched roofs, stone facing, mullioned windows and towering chimneys.
      Camuto died in January 2015 at the age of 78, and the estate is being sold by his wife and business partner, Louise, who acted as creative director of the Camuto Group. In 2014 the group had an estimated worth of $1 billion. It was sold in 2018 to footwear chain DSW.

      The starry domed ceiling of the sitting room.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      Following Camuto’s death, his wife was tasked with selling the couple’s other project, the sprawling 15-acre, 20,000-square-foot Hamptons waterfront estate called Villa Maria. Like Chateau Ridge, it was bought in a dilapidated state and meticulously restored by the couple.
      The kitchen.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      After being first listed in 2008 for a staggering $100 million, Villa Maria  languished for a decade unsold, eventually selling for $49 million two years ago.
      One of the dining rooms.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      As for Chateau Ridge, Swedish-born Louise Camuto—she was a former Miss Sweden—describes the massive home as “cozy and welcoming.”
      The family room.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      “I think this house is extraordinary. No one is not going to find another house like that has the same quality of craftsmanship,” she says. “It is so beautifully made. It’s a house that makes you feel welcome and warm.”
      The grand hallway with its carved ceilings.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      What price it ends up selling for is anyone’s guess. All we know is that according to Zillow, the estate first listed for $25 million in July 2017 and was reduced to $18 million two years ago. It was eventually taken off the market in November last year and, perhaps with an auction in mind, returned this past May with that elevated $26.5 million asking.
      The covered patio.  Photo: Courtesy of Concierge Auctions

      The auction itself is being held on ConciergeAuctions.com in cooperation with Shelly Tretter Lynch and Kimberly Johnson of Compass Real Estate who held the original listing. Click here if you fancy waving that digital paddle. More