Imagine buying a house for $27.5 million — the highest price paid for a house in New Jersey in years, if not decades — and feeling like you got a good deal.
If the property was the former Frick family estate — a grand 33,000-square-foot, 12-bedroom, 19-bathroom residence on 12 acres with I-can’t-believe-it-comes-with-all-these amenities — you may just have done so.
At least, that’s the impression of the undisclosed buyer, who picked up a property in Alpine that is tucked into one of the country’s wealthiest ZIP codes.
(Realtor.com first reported the sale Monday.)
The sale price was below the $32.9 million it recently was asking, and far below the $68 million it was listed for when it first went on the market — in 2010. That’s right, it took more than a decade to sell an estate owned by Kamson Corp. CEO Richard Kurtz, who purchased the property for $58 million in 2006.
But, as they say, there’s a buyer for every home.
Dennis McCormack of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty found this one.
And what an estate they are getting. Consider, it has:
- A ballroom;
- A martini bar;
- A wine-tasting room;
- Dual libraries (why only have one?);
- A 65-foot saltwater gunite pool,
- Two art galleries (again, why only have one?);
- An indoor basketball court (there are 30-foot ceilings in the basement);
- A gated motor court with a heated driveway.
“It’s very rare to see a house of this magnitude with these amenities,” McCormack told Realtor.com. “You could accomplish grand-scale entertaining in the house.”
If it makes you wonder why Kurtz would ever leave, consider this: He never actually came.
That’s right, Kurtz — who did multimillion-dollar renovations — never actually lived in the house.
If you’re looking to live in Alpine, there are other options. Realtor.com says there are currently 26 homes for sale in Alpine (with a median price of just over $3 million).
If you’re looking for an estate, you might want to check out the Chateau de La Roche, a 25,700-square-foot mansion in Mahwah. It is listed for just $25 million.
Here’s hoping you get a good deal.
