Mel Gibson's Old Mill Farm Sold For More Than $5 Million Under List Price

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jul 1st 2010 at 7:01PM

Back in April we learned that Mel Gibson had sold Old Mill Farm, his 75-acre Greenwich estate. Now the Greenwich Time has news on the price. The home sold for nearly $24 million after spending three years on the market. We first saw this property hit the market in 2007 for $39.5 million. At the sale time the listing price had been carved down to $29.75 million. He bought the property in 1994 for $9.3 million.

According to town records the new buyer is Cosette Property LLC. No information is available on the company but this could be a trust for a buyer who wants to remain hidden. The paper says that the highest-priced residential transaction this year in Greenwich was the $31.4 million sale of a mansion on 22 acres at 30 John St., bought by a company that lists Tommy Hilfiger as its principal. That property was our estate of the day back in April and was listed for $33 million. Hilfiger sold another Greenwich home last fall for $20 million. That one was listed at $27.9 million when it was our estate of the day back in 2008.

Old Mill Farm is a design by architect Charles Lewis Bowman built in 1926 for his horse-loving client, G.L. Ohrstrom. The home is one of the last great manor homes in Greenwich and is significant not just for the architecture but for the fact that it has 77 acres of land. The home itself is an Elizabethan-inspired Tudor mansion of 15,800 square feet and the property has 15 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms total. The jaw-dropping room of the place is the great hall which has a 40-foot cathedral ceiling with a stone minstrel's gallery, walk-in fireplace and leaded glass ceilings. The grounds, which were done by landscape designer James Doyle, include formal gardens and a maze. There is also a terrace pool, tennis court, greenhouse, stable, staff houses, log cabin and a pond on the property.

Gibson's Lavender Hill Farm in Malibu remains on the market at $14.5 million.

Gallery: Mel Gibson's Old Mill Farm

Tags: celebrity real estate, connecticut, greenwich, mel gibson, old mill farm, Tommy Hilfiger

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Spectacular Bid Jul 2nd 2010 12:04AM

A true steal at that final price!

Did Mel make a significant profit on the property? Unlikely. In 2005 the property was assessed for $17.7 million and annual property taxes at $137,000. So if you assume a tax bill over the 15 years he held it at say an average of $115,000, per year, that is $1.725 million paid in property taxes alone.

Upkeep - manicured gardens and lawns, pool work, snow removal, etc - easily could add a few more million over his ownership; energy costs even if largely unused by him are very significant; then there are millions more invested in upgrades, changes, and improvements.

All of those costs plus the original purchase and then the sale proceeds - less taxes - and the return isn't that notable all things considered. Regardless the new owner(s) have purchased one of the largest private contiguous estates in Greenwich with a tremendous history and irreplaceable architecture for a price only marginally above the assessed value.

ehangren Aug 30th 2010 9:09PM

What upgrades, improvements and changes? Sure, he's done a fantastic job maintaiining the house and grounds, but I guarantee you he bought the house with everything in it and hasn't touched a thing in the interior since. Look at those worn out couches, rugs and, well, everything. The walls don't look they've been painted in 80 years! And those colors - what? Wait - in the photo of the great room with the front door in the background - do I see a really tacky Madonna statue on the right? Amazing.

I've seen real estate listing photos of his home in Malibu - same thing - amazing house and property and bad, old worn furniture.

I bet he's cheap.