Why Hasn’t Anyone Bought Katharine Hepburn’s Connecticut Estate?
Why Hasn’t Anyone Bought Katharine Hepburn’s Connecticut Estate?
Clarence Sinclair Bull/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images
A posh estate linked to the late actress Katharine Hepburn is back on the market in coastal Connecticut.
Listed for $11.8 million with Colette Harron of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty Essex, the 8,368-square-foot property is in Fenwick, a borough of Old Saybrook, CT, and faces Long Island Sound. Ideal for a buyer looking for an escape from city life, Fenwick is a quiet and quaint area with zero chain businesses.
The mansion initially appeared on the market in 2011, but was taken off the market in 2014, after three years without a buyer. “Now that the market is better, we’ve put it back on,” explains Harron. “It was at a much higher price before“—$28 million, to be exact. Between 2011 and 2014, the home’s listing price drifted downward to $14.8 million, before vanishing from the market. Three years later, it’s back with $3 million sliced from the last known price.
Hepburn grew up in the six-bedroom, eight-bath home, and spent summers there until her death in 2003, at the age of 97. Among her most memorable roles were “The Philadelphia Story,” “The African Queen,” and “On Golden Pond.”
“She could have lived anywhere,” says Harron. “She went swimming (in the sound) every day, even when it was frozen.”
Built in 1939, the home features six completely private bedroom suites, perfect for housing guests or teenage children who demand privacy. There are seven fireplaces, and the home’s open floor plan is ideal for entertaining, while creating a relaxed feel. There is also a screened-in bluestone porch. Chef-grade appliances in the kitchen include an AGA stove and Sub-Zero fridge. There’s even an option to land in the front lawn via seaplane, something Howard Hughes did often.
“This is really the jewel of Fenwick. It’s fairly priced,” Harron says of the estate, adding that it has “an incredible beachfront” and your own 220-foot beach. The water features include a private dock. A pond on one side provides further privacy, and the estate also overlooks a nine-hole golf course.
Current owner Frank Sciame, who also restored the Old Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, lived in the home during its extensive restoration, which began in 2005. Neighboring homes are equally steeped in luxury—there are nearly 30 homes in the small community with asking prices of over $1 million.
Recently, the town has been enticing more year-round residents, a shift from its former status as a summer-only community. “It used to be only cottages that were built in the 1800s,” explains Harron. “(Now) people stay here longer. First, it was in the summer, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then every weekend.” Many residents commute to Boston and New York City to work via train.
Who’s the perfect next resident of Hepburn’s former manse? “The person who has everything,” says Harron. “It’s not every day that you see these kinds of buyers.”
- For more photos and details, check out the full listing.
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