Recent Comments:
Glen Tonche, Estate of the Day {Luxist}
Aug 15th 2006 11:03PM Exceedingly pricy for the Catskills. However a never to be recreated setting with unsurpassed views, protected lands around it (held by the Raymond Pitcairn Trust and NYC for their watershed preservation) and David Bowie/Iman as quasi neighbors - they bought 64 acres on nearby Little Tonche Mountain although have not built anything on their land.
I recall the estate being marketed for quite some time in the mid-late 1990's for under $4M and selling just at or under $3 million. It's condition was nothing like it is today as the property grounds were somewhat overgrown, heavier tree coverage and vastly more camp-like in its look and purpose.
Worth noting the Pitcairn family today is still exceedingly wealthy with a collective fortune well over $1 billion per Forbes. (Groomed by the highly well managed Pitcairn Financial Group) They founded automotive glass maker, PPG Industries.
Lake George Hotel, Estate of the Day {Luxist}
Aug 7th 2006 12:31PM Lake George is a very lovely area and if you are going to the Saratoga Race Track it isn't too far away. At $17.9 million, however, the economics aren't there to do a "a bed and breakfast" let alone a boutique Inn. LG is not a year-round hotbed of tourism and even at $1,200 a night it never will operate in the black. I'm sure the current owners picked it up for dirt cheap when these white elephants on the Lake George for cheap. Even for a grand private home that is exceedingly steep and NYS taxes and upkeep will decimate even the wealthiest of people.
Singer Castle, Estate of the Day {Luxist}
Jul 12th 2006 12:21PM $22 million? Come on, this property languished for YEARS and YEARS with heavy marketing in every glossy real estate magazine you could think of in the 1990's. Only when it finally was offered at a firesale price (well under $2M) did it move - and even then it appears to profiteers who did little to improve it.
It is beautiful and spectacular, but who really wants to have a massive white elephant in the Thousand Islands in 2006?
Chinqua-Penn Plantation, Estate of the Day {Luxist}
Jul 12th 2006 12:09PM SOLD - July 11, 2006 for $4,128,500 to what appears to be a decent guy (Calvin A. Phelps of Davie County) who admires the architecture, history and wants to preserve it as well as have some limited public access to it. Sounds like a win/win for all parties.
The media link below:
http://www.edendailynews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=EDN%2FMGArticle%2FEDN_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189093631&path=!news!localnews
