Westfield, NJ, a town of grand, restored Victorians and stately mansions perched on tree-lined streets, is the kind of place many folks aspire to one day call home. The downtown features mom and pop shops and bakeries alongside a Williams-Sonoma and Baby Gap stores. Even before COVID-19, busy roads were often closed off so residents could listen to live music while dining outdoors, participate in children’s arts and crafts projects, or take open-air yoga classes. Many who grow up in the affluent suburb, about an hour west of Manhattan, return after college to raise their families there. The pandemic has boosted its upscale appeal, making it a popular destination for folks escaping nearby cities in search of more space. That’s led to a nearly 13.5% annual surge in home prices, to a median list price of $884,050 in September, according to realtor.com® data. But most newcomers aren’t immediately aware that Westfield has a macabre side—and a deeply dark history. A string of high-profile murders has taken place within Westfield’s 6.7 square miles, leaving homes across the city with gruesome footnotes in their property history. They include the sprawling home on a hill where accountant John List murdered his wife, three children, and mother, and then vanished for 18 years—perhaps the most famous “family annihilation” in U.S. history. Then there’s “The Watcher” house, whose new owners were subjected to a campaign of terror by a mysterious letter writer, inspiring a 2016 Lifetime movie and an upcoming Netflix flick. It seems in nearly every generation, Westfield makes the national news for a sinister crime. The town’s imposing, Victorian-rich architecture may have even inspired Charles Adams to create “The Addams Family” cartoons, with its spooky mansion and spookier inhabitants. “It does seem like a lot for a town of 30,000,” says Lauren Barr, editor and publisher of the Westfield Leader, the local newspaper. She grew up here and graduated from Westfield High School in 1998. But “I don’t think that it has affected the town’s reputation,” she adds. The thing is, few would expect such heinous acts to occur in such a wealthy, picture-perfect community, says Arthur Lurigio, a criminology and psychology professor at Loyola University Chicago. The crimes “stand out because of the place,” says Lurigio. “This isn’t supposed to happen. … It’s not a place where you expect violence to occur.” The infamous ‘Watcher’ house wrenched Westfield back into the spotlightWestfield’s most recent touch of national infamy was the twisted tale of “The Watcher” house. A couple purchased the six-bedroom, turn-of-the-century Dutch Colonial for more than $1.35 million in 2014, then spent an additional $100,000 on renovations. But Derek and Maria Broaddus and their three children never moved in. The family’s nightmare began when they received the first in a series of chilling letters. The anonymous writer claimed to be charged with “watching” the house, just as the writer’s father and grandfather did before. The “watcher” seemed to be particularly interested in the couple’s children, referred to in the letters both as the “young blood” and by their individual names. “Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone. I would [be] very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream,” one of the letters said. Perhaps most frightening, the writer appeared to be omnipresent and yet nowhere, perhaps hiding in plain sight. “All of the windows and doors in 657 Boulevard allow me to watch you and track you as you move through the house,” the watcher wrote. Then later in the same letter: “I pass by many times a day. 657 Boulevard is my job, my life, my obsession. And now you are too Braddus family.” Another note asked: “Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard?” “It was quite the story at the time,” says newspaper editor Barr. “Everyone put their sleuthing hats on in town. … It was all anyone talked about for a while.” The Broaddus family found themselves stuck with an expensive home they didn’t feel safe visiting, much less living in. They sued the former owners of the home, who had received one letter from the watcher a few days before they moved out, but never told the new owners. The case was dismissed. Next, the couple proposed razing the place and selling the lot for two new homes to be built in its place. The idea was soundly rejected by the town’s planning board. The couple resorted to renting out the home. Last year, the Broadduses finally sold the place for about $959,000, a substantial loss. So who was the watcher? At various times, different neighbors came under suspicion. Some residents, unhappy with the unwelcome attention placed on their town, even surmised that the Broadduses sent the notes to themselves (which the couple staunchly deny). The mystery has never been solved. One longtime Westfield resident walking her two dogs by the home on Tuesday morning said interest in the episode had died down. “It was really intriguing at the time and very scary,” says Rebecca Jezierski, 70, who lives a few blocks away. But “all of a sudden [the letters] just stopped when these new people moved in.” John List murders his family—and then disappears“The Watcher” house would be a creepy enough local legend for one town. But one day a half-century ago, Westfield accountant John List shot his mother, wife, and three children to death in their 19-room Colonial, known as Breeze Knoll. List struggled to hold down a job, and hadn’t told his family he’d lost his latest one and was broke. Moreover, he felt his family was turning away from the church (he was a devout Lutheran) and toward temptation. On Nov. 9, 1971, List shot each one, then wrote a letter to his pastor explaining he was saving them from the embarrassment of losing their home and from endangering their place in heaven. Then List disappeared. He created a new identity, remarried, and moved to Colorado. It wasn’t until an “America’s Most Wanted” episode on the murders aired that he was finally caught—18 years after the murders. List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. “People still remember it. When I was growing up, John List was the ghost story,” says Barr. She used to live two streets over from the List property. During List’s 1990 trial, townspeople would line up outside of the courthouse as early as 6 a.m. to get a seat in the galley. The home where the List family perished burned down nine months after the murders, in 1972. Locals traded theories about the suspicious fire. Some believed List returned to torch the mansion, says Barr. Others dismissed it as the handiwork of kids—or Satan worshippers. The property was auctioned off late that year to local newspaper publisher Kurt Bauer for a winning bid of $36,100. The property itself then became the link to another high-profile killing in town, 25 years after the List murders. Jeffrey Bauer, 48, Kurt Bauer’s brother, was shot by his estranged wife, Meta Bauer, in 1996 at the Westfield Leader, the local newspaper where he was the publisher. She then killed herself. “It was just another very strange thing to happen in what’s usually a quiet, sleepy town,” says Barr, who did not work at the newspaper at the time. Several more murders were committed in WestfieldThe List murders weren’t the first case of a local parent killing a child in Westfield. In 1959, 17-year-old high school basketball star Raymond Bailey III was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by his mother in their home. She then stabbed herself 25 times, but survived. There were other murders in the tony town as well. In 1974, Dr. John J. Graff, 56, was killed in a mugging after leaving the local train station. Authorities believed he was on his way home, just three blocks away. No one was ever caught. Two years later, Lena Triano, 57, was hogtied with electrical cords cut out of her appliances, raped, strangled with a tie from her bedroom blinds, and stabbed multiple times in her Westfield home. It took 36 years for authorities to track down the murderer, Carlton Franklin. More recently, college student Sohayla Massachi, 23, was abducted from Seton Hall University by her ex-boyfriend in 2000. He brought her to his Westfield apartment and shot her to death. ‘The Addams Family’ creator found creepy inspiration growing up hereMaybe it’s fitting that Westfield’s most famous former resident was cartoonist Charles Addams, known for his dark characters and pitch-black sense of humor, as seen in “The Addams Family.” His beloved characters grace the windows of the town’s downtown shops at this time of year, and the town’s AddamsFest puts on a series of family-friendly, Halloween events (this year with social distancing measures in place). Addams was born in 1912 and grew up in a modest home with canvas awnings over the windows near the heart of town. On his walks to school, he passed by spooky, abandoned Victorians said to have inspired the “Addams Family” mansion. “When Charles grew up, a lot of those houses were empty and rotting and falling apart,” says Kevin Miserocchi, executive director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation. (Marilyn “Tee” Addams was the cartoonist’s wife.) “That [Victorian] architecture intrigued him.” The first “Addams Family” cartoon ran in the New Yorker in the late 1930s, after the cartoonist left Westfield for Manhattan. Addams biographer Linda H. Davis disputed the rumors the architecture in the “lovely town” of Westfield inspired the “Addams Family” mansion. “It’s a persistent myth,” says Davis, author of “Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life.” She claims he borrowed architectural details from different buildings he saw and used them in new variations of the mansion. “The house is never drawn the same way twice.” Why Westfield’s housing market hasn’t been hurt by these tragediesThe pandemic has spurred buyers from nearby cities, like New York City, Hoboken, and Jersey City, to descend on Westfield. Many are searching for big homes with even bigger backyards to ride out the COVID-19 crisis and any new stay-at-home directives. Westfield’s more unsavory history doesn’t often come up in conversations with these soon-to-be residents. “People coming to Westfield don’t know anything about ‘The Watcher’ house and don’t care about it,” says local real estate agent Scott Gleason, of Re/Max Select. “I haven’t heard about it in town conversations or real estate conversations in a year. … [And] John List is ancient lore. “They’re not related to our real estate reality,” he says. “If you have a spate of burglaries or there are armed robberies on the street in the central business district, you might see people wanting to move out,” says criminologist Lurigio. But that is not the case here. Westfield received an A-plus crime rating from AreaVibes, which evaluates the best places to live. It had 96% less violent crime and 71% less crime overall than the national average, according to the site. “Lots and lots of people want to live here,” says Gleason. The post Why the Upscale Suburb of Westfield, NJ, May Be the Scariest Place to Live in the U.S. appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/upscale-suburb-westfield-nj-scariest-place-to-live/
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Kimberly Guilfoyle, adviser to President Donald Trump and a former Fox News host, has listed her Manhattan apartment for $4,999,000, the Daily Mail reported. The former television personality purchased the three-bedroom unit in 2015, when she was employed by the news network. She paid $3.4 million for the place, according to the Mail. Guilfoyle renovated the space after buying it, apparently transforming a showcase for taxidermy into an interior with sleek and modern spaces. The apartment is located in The Beresford, a building from the late 1920s. You enter via a 28-foot-long gallery at the opening of the 2,400-square-foot “trophy residence,” as the listing calls it. The gallery leads into blue-and-gray entertaining spaces. The living room has a wood-burning fireplace and tree-lined view and the updated dining room, in a powder-blue palette, has a modernistic chandelier. The updated chef’s kitchen contains stainless-steel appliances, including a Sub-Zero refrigerator, a Wolf stove, Miele dishwasher, and a large washer and dryer. The three marble bathrooms include the marble master en suite, which has double sinks, a walk-in shower, clawfoot bathtub, walk-in closets, designer lighting, and custom built-in sound system. Other details of the swanky space include 10-foot ceilings, crown moldings, hardwood floors, new soundproof windows, and central air conditioning. Just next to Central Park on the Upper West Side, the iconic building, which was designed by Emery Roth, comes with 24-hour door attendants, elevator attendants, a private health club, private storage units, bike and laundry rooms, and security. Guilfoyle left Fox News in 2018. An article in the New Yorker alleged that she left as a result of charges of sexual harassment against her, which she denies. Since then, she’s served as an adviser for the Trump 2020 reelection campaign, delivering a speech at a memorably high volume at the Republican National Convention in August. She began dating Donald Trump Jr. in mid-2018. The two purchased a home in the Hamptons together in 2019. Carol Levy with Compass holds the listing. The post Kimberly Guilfoyle Reportedly Selling Her NYC Apartment for $5M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/kimberly-guilfoyle-reportedly-selling-nyc-apartment/ Steeped in gorgeous scenery, the dream life just might be—to borrow another pun—in the bag if you snap up this tea plantation for sale. Because whatever you’re doing at the moment isn’t as intriguing as harvesting tea leaves and cultivating your own tea brand, right? If you require any additional enticement, this dream life is located on the lush and verdant north shore of Kauai. On the market for $8,500,000 in the town of Kilauea, HI, Cloudwater Tea Farm was launched by a flight attendant (who studied abroad in Japan) and an architect, according to Fast Company. Health and wellness have long been connected with Hawaii’s tourism industry, and this tea farm hits the spot. It’s one of Kauai’s two tea plantations (the other is Kauai Farmacy). Former flight attendant Michelle Rose purchased the land and then planted Camellia sinensis (used to make tea leaves). Her partner in life and love, architect Parker Croft, designed the Zen-like, bungalow-style buildings dotting the property. The 20 acre-spread straddles two parcels and comes with 1,500 feet of “flowing waterways that wind in and out and all around the home.” The main residence comprises four structures under one roof, all connected by lanais. The offering includes two buildings, each with two bedrooms and baths; a two-story guesthouse; and plenty of outbuildings to store bulky items like kayaks, canoes, bicycles, and gardening equipment and tools. The “flowing waterways” that cut through the property mean there’s no need to head to the beach: Numerous private swimming holes are on site. For a reduced price of $6,500,000—which is $2 million less than the asking price—one can purchase the home and 10 acres, but not the additional 10-acre lot. Finished in 2007, this property “can not be duplicated or built today,” the listing states. In addition to the tea gardens, 25 clumping varieties of bamboo also grow on the property. Mark Goodman of Oceanfront Sotheby’s International Realty is handling the listing. The post Read the Tea Leaves and Brew Up a New Life at an $8.5M Tea Plantation on Kauai appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/tea-plantation-for-sale-kauai/ NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet, have a soft spot for the sparkling estate they built with the help of architect Richard Landry back in 2002. They created it, sold it, and bought it again. Now they’re selling the home for a second time. It’s on the market for $22,900,000. After construction on the estate in the prestigious Sherwood Country Club community was completed, the couple enjoyed the Colonial Revival–style mansion for about five years. In 2007, they sold the 6.5-acre property to former baseball star Lenny Dykstra for $18,500,000. Dykstra wound up losing the mansion in bankruptcy proceedings in 2010. The bank let it go at auction for a mere $760,712, with the buyer agreeing to pick up the nearly $12 million still owed on the property. The lavish estate changed hands several times after Dykstra’s folly. In 2018, the Gretzkys purchased the property once again for $13,500,000. “The Gretzkys built the house and understood the value of the property and the quality of the views and the finishes, so when the opportunity to purchase it came around, they didn’t hesitate,” says listing agent Arvin Haddad, of The Agency. Why were the Gretzkys so enamored with the property? The grand estate really is one of a kind, even in its extremely ritzy environs. The luxe living space measures 13,276 square feet, divided among a main residence and two guesthouses. All in all, there are six bedrooms and eight baths. But the numbers don’t do justice to the elegant craftsmanship of the homes—from the gleaming wood floors to the marble surfaces to the elegantly coffered ceilings. Then there are the awe-inspiring views. From almost every room in the home, you can soak in vistas of the Santa Monica Mountains and placid Lake Sherwood. Outdoor amenities include a championship tennis court, rolling lawns, manicured hedges, and a huge pool. There’s also a kitchen with a wood-burning pizza oven and barbecue. A circular motor court with a fountain and formal gardens offers an extra touch of extravagance. Inside, the home is filled with elegant extras, among them a master suite with a sitting room, dual baths and closets, a private screening room, a fitness facility with a gym and spa, and a billiard room, The large kitchen features a marble-topped island, high-end appliances, and a butler’s pantry. “The Sherwood Country Club is known for its privacy, security, and top-notch facilities,” explains Haddad, who also stars on CNBC’s “Listing Impossible.” “The grass is from Wimbledon, the clay is from Roland-Garros, the golf course was designed by Jack Nicklaus,” Haddad continues. “The public and private schools are second to none.” Gretzky, 59, starred for 20 seasons in the National Hockey League, from 1979 through 1999, and earned his nickname of “The Great One” for his extraordinary abilities on the ice. Considered the greatest player ever in the NHL, he won four Stanley Cups and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player nine times. Since retiring, Gretzky has been involved in hockey team ownership and management. In 2016, he became a partner in and vice chairman of the Oilers Entertainment Group. He also owns restaurants, a winery, and a distillery. The post Wayne Gretzky Selling a $22.9M Mansion So Nice, He Bought It Twice appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/wayne-gretzky-selling-thousand-oaks-mansion-again/ The numbers: The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index posted a 5.2% year-over-year gain in August, up from revised 4.1% in the previous month, according to a report released by S&P Dow Jones Indices on Tuesday. The gain was in line with expectations of Wall Street economists surveyed by Econoday. On a monthly basis, the index increased 0.5 in August. What happened: The separate national index released with the report noted a 5.7% increase in home prices across the U.S. over the past year. This is the fastest pace in more than two years. The strength was consistent nationally. All of the 19 large cities tracked by Case-Shiller posted increases in housing prices in August. A separate measure, the Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index, rose 1.5% in August and is up 8% year-on-year. That’s the fastest annual gain since March 2006. Phoenix once again led all other markets nationwide with a 9.9% annual price gain in August, followed by Seattle with an 8.5% increase and San Diego with a 7.6% increase. Phoenix has been the strongest housing market for 15 months. Big picture: The housing sector is showing strength across the board resulting from a combination of low mortgage rates, rising demand, and shift in consumer preferences as a result of the pandemic. What S&P Dow Indices says: “If future reports continue in this vein, we may soon be able to conclude that the COVID-related deceleration is far behind us,” said Craig Lazzara, global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. What are other economists saying: “We expect some moderation in home price growth in the fourth quarter as the pace of home sales cools in the face of a resurging pandemic and a faltering recovery,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, economist at Oxford Economics. Market reaction: U.S. stock benchmarks opened lower Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 121 points. The post U.S. Home Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in Two Years appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/u-s-home-prices-rise-at-fastest-pace-in-two-years/ New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is looking to pass his townhome in Princeville, HI, to a buyer for $2.05 million. The Super Bowl champ is no stranger to the real estate game. Purchased in 2007 for $2.26 million, the condo on the lush island of Kauai offers three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms spread across 2,864 square feet. Located in a prime spot within the Ka’iulani development on the island’s north shore, the space boasts ocean and golf-course views. Inside, the floor plan features two living areas, a dining area, and a kitchen with a center island, stainless-steel appliances, plentiful storage, eat-in area, and bar. In addition, the layout includes a lanai and a patio area that looks out to the water. Other details include 11-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and air conditioning. The grounds feature a resident manager, as well as tropical landscaping and a lighted walking path. Residents also have access to three heated pools, a spa, two barbecue areas, and a covered pavilion. Brees also owned another condo in Kauai, which he listed in 2015 for $1.75 million, the Los Angeles Times reported. The NFL star purchased the place in 2006 for the slightly higher price of $1.76 million. The investment property had been on the short-term rental market for $351 a night for a three-night minimum, according to NOLA.com. The 1,752-square-foot abode with panoramic views offered two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, breakfast bar, and an ocean-facing lanai. Stateside, the QB and his wife, Brittany, also let go of a Southern California home in Carmel Valley, CA, last year. After the perk-packed property was listed last year for $2.6 million, the home found a buyer within a month. The floor plan boasted a billiard-room, wet bar, casita with steam room and sauna, as well as a putting green, pool, and spa. The couple also own a four-bedroom, two-story home in New Orleans, which they picked up in 2006 for $1.6 million and reportedly renovated themselves. The over 10,000-square-foot spread includes a huge kitchen, solarium, living and dining rooms, den, wine cellar, as well as an outdoor pool. Recently, the four-bedroom Austin, TX, home where Brees grew up came on the market for $1.89 million. Starting his career with the San Diego Chargers in 2001, Brees signed with the Saints in 2006, and has been in the Big Easy ever since. Along with a Super Bowl championship, he has records in passing yards and 300-yard games, and holds the NFL records for career pass completions, career pass attempts, career completion percentage, and career passing yards. Nathan Smith with Corcoran Pacific Properties-Kauai holds the listing. The post New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Selling $2.05M Townhome on Kauai appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/drew-brees-selling-kauai-townhome/ The luxury mansion owned by Fotis Dulos and Jennifer Farber Dulos has come on the market for $1.75 million. The posh property in Farmington, CT, is the place where the couple raised their five children prior to their divorce. After Fotis Dulos was charged with a role in his estranged wife’s disappearance, he attempted suicide in the garage of the mansion earlier this year. He died two days later. At the time of his death in January, he faced charges stemming from Jennifer’s mysterious disappearance. She vanished in May 2019, and her body has yet to be found. The home is part of the family estate that is being sold off, with proceeds to go to the couple’s five children. The furnishings and other personal items left behind are being sold at auction. After just days on the market, the property has attracted an offer and is listed in “contingency” status. The home’s pricing is right in line with the median price in Farmington, which currently has a median list price of $154 per square foot. The Dulos home is priced at $168 per square foot. Dulos built the luxury estate for his family in 2011, through his development company, Fore Group. Set on over 2 acres, the 10,396-square-foot layout features six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, and three half-bathrooms. Reclaimed brick and slate were used in the home’s construction, and it features a “flexible floor plan that combines utility with elegance,” according to the listing details from Ellyn Marshall of William Raveis Real Estate. A gourmet Christopher Peacock kitchen features a six-burner Viking stove, three ovens, and a Sub-Zero fridge, as well as a butler’s pantry, which houses two more serving fridges and a wine fridge. The spacious living areas feature French doors from the family room and kitchen that open out to the patio. A luxurious master bedroom suite includes a wood-burning fireplace, a sitting room, a walk-in closet, and a marble bathroom with two vanities. Other amenities include a library with arched ceilings, wine cellar, furnished gym, and home office with vaulted ceilings, separate entrance, a half-bathroom, and kitchenette. The spacious residence also features an elevator, Kaleidescape home-theater system, four wood-burning fireplaces, and a whole-house generator. According to reports, the couple, who met at Brown University, moved into the custom-built home in 2012. The home was a showcase for Fortis’ company, funded in part by Jennifer’s father, Hilliard Farber. Jennifer was a writer who had a blog and wrote for the local guide patch.com. As the marriage became strained, Jennifer left with her five children in 2017, and filed for divorce. She moved to New Canaan, CT, and Fotis remained at the Farmington mansion. Their divorce hadn’t been finalized at the time of her disappearance. After a police investigation, Fortis was charged with traveling to Jennifer’s home and killing her. Out on bail, he was due in court on the day he attempted suicide. The post Luxury Mansion in Connecticut Owned by Fotis and Jennifer Dulos Is Listed for $1.75M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/luxury-mansion-connecticut-owned-by-fotis-and-jennifer-dulos-for-sale/ A showcase for Tracy Hickman’s interior-design prowess, the 7,000-square-foot home she shared with her husband in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood is up for sale, with a price tag of $3.35 million. The couple lived in the auto-body shop turned single-family home with their two large Newfoundland dogs for nearly a decade. It has four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. “Their dream was to find a large commercial space to renovate,” says the listing agent, Jon Dimetros of Main Street Real Estate Group. The couple put in the arduous conversion work, and the result is a gorgeous home with all the living space on one level—practically unheard of in a metro area where additional space can only be constructed vertically. They paid $882,500 for the historic property in 2009, and the couple wrapped up renovations in 2011. “The first two homes they had were more traditional, in Lakeview and Lincoln Park,” says Dimetros. By contrast, he says, the bones of this building are not traditional. Details of the 1908 building in Logan Square included Venetian plaster, original beams, and 14-foot ceilings. Hickman’s touches include stone pavers imported from France, a suede-paneled front door, Hope’s Windows NYC steel doors, St. Andrews limestone counters, bowstring trusses, and custom lighting from a variety of designers. Luxe interior perks added by Hickman include a wine cellar, gym, and chef-grade kitchen. “They had to completely relay the foundation. They’ve kept all the original wood, but had to sandblast the beautiful truss wood,” says Dimetros. The couple tore up a parking lot in favor of green space that includes reflection ponds, a basalt patio, and grill station, he adds. Parking is now in a four-car garage. “The home is super large, but it’s cozy and easy to navigate. The attention to detail, along with the design, is what makes this property unique,” he says. Mammoth Distillery, which Hickman and her husband founded in Traverse City, MI, six years ago, now requires more of their hands-on attention. As a result, they’re leaving Chicago after 30 years, and are ready to hand over the keys to the next owner. Dimetros thinks the lucky buyers will be surprised to learn how much space they can get in the city. “It’s the closest you’ll get to large-scale suburban living in the city of Chicago,” he says. “You just don’t find that.” The ideal buyers, he says, might be a younger couple with or without children who want city amenities, as well as everything the suburbs have to offer. Alternatively, he says, they might be empty nesters from the suburbs or a city high-rise. Logan Square is a 15-minute drive to downtown Chicago (the commute doubles during rush hour). That’s a breeze compared to North Shore spreads, where a commute can take up to 90 minutes. “Close but with a lot of square footage” is the key phrase Dimetros has been using to market the property. But we’re partial to the phrase he chose in the listing details: “an urban oasis.” The post A Car Repair Shop in Chicago Is Transformed Into an Amazing Modern Residence appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/chicago-car-repair-shop-turned-amazing-residence/ A historically significant house has been brought into the 21st century with artistic flair, thanks to a world-renowned painter. The neoexpressionist painter Hunt Slonem is selling the stately Woolworth Mansion on Jefferson Avenue in Scranton, PA, for $1.35 million. He bought the property in 2015 for $295,000, and has spent the last five years restoring it. The home was originally built in 1910 for Charles Sumner Woolworth, the co-founder of the Woolworth retail empire. Measuring 8,333 square feet, with five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, the mansion had sat all but abandoned for about 18 years. “I saw this house and my jaw just dropped, and I said ‘What is that?’” Slonem says. “They had done a lot of work on the stonework, but the inside was a train wreck. I was just blown away, but I realized what a huge project it was.” Slonem has restored and owns several other homes around the country, including the Scranton Armory—an 1897 building he restored and furnished. “My heart skips beats when I see these great reminiscences of eras gone by, when there was order in the world, and there was a wonderful sense of quality,” he says. “I love old buildings. Modern buildings don’t excite me in the same way.” This is the first of his homes that Slonem has put up for sale. “They don’t build them like this anymore,” he explains. This building was the work of an important architect, using materials that are no longer available, he says, unless they are salvaged from old houses that are being demolished. The architect, Lansing Holden, designed this property and several others in the Scranton area. “It truly is a unique property,” says the listing agent, Marion Gatto, praising the historical accuracy of Slonem’s renovations. Crews stabilized floors eaten away by beetles, replaced roofs, and updated just about everything in the house—with an important exception. “You can see that I leave the patina in the hallway. I did not repaint the grand, French, heavily plastered motif in the hallway. It looks like a chateau from the 1700s,” Slonem explains. “You can always repaint. You can’t recreate the way it looks now.” Slonem based much of his renovation work on old photographs. However, for some of the rooms, there were no vintage images—and that included the kitchen. “That room was just blank. It had been torn apart,” Slonem says. “There is no documentation of what the original kitchen looked like or where it was. There’s no evidence of it being anywhere in particular.” Slonem readily admits that he isn’t a kitchen person, and the resulting kitchen is small compared to some of the other rooms. However, it has benefited from the same attention to detail as the rest of the house. Slonem’s decision to use cues from the past has paid off, according to the agent. “It’s amazing, just breathtaking,” Gatto says. “When you look at the railings or at the marble staircase or the ceilings, the architecture is just phenomenal.” Color is key in this house. Some walls are bright and adorned with 19th-century paintings, as well as with many of Slonem’s own pieces. The artist is known for painting birds, bunnies, and butterflies, and his work is featured in museums around the world. “I try to breathe life into these projects. I’m known as a colorist, you know. I am a painter,” he explains. As an artist, he says, he considers these homes as “installations.” “I enter my work, and my work enters them,” he says. “When something has been abandoned for so long, it really needs a lot of love and light poured into it.” The house has five marble fireplaces and wood floors throughout, as well as a full basement and a two-car garage. Chandeliers in most rooms, including the bedrooms, elevate the decor. The home is located in the Hill Section of Scranton, with many older homes surrounding it. Near the house is a 3,000-square-foot carriage house, basically an open, untouched space. “You could turn it into whatever you want it to be,” Gatto says. Slonem was considering using it as an art studio. Gatto has another idea for the entire property. “I thought that this place could be a fabulous venue, where you have courtyard to the left and stairs that go up to a slight patio,” she says, adding that she can see a bride and groom walking down the staircase for the cocktail hour and dinner outside, and turning the carriage house into a commercial kitchen. The furnishings aren’t part of the sale, but Gatto says the home will be easy for a buyer to move right in. “I think you get a warmth from the house,” she says. “Even though it’s so large, each room makes you feel like you belong there.” The post Restored by an Acclaimed Artist, Woolworth Mansion in Scranton Is a Work of Art appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/restored-woolworth-mansion-scranton/
How becoming a homeowner brings with it a sense of pride, status and stability.
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April 2021
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