Mark Ecko's Stronghold isn't the only lavish estate in Bernardsville, New Jersey. The area was once a summer colony for Wall Street financiers after the Civil War. The Stevens Estate is a 15-acre property which was originally the summer mansion of Robert Livingston Stevens, whose family was instrumental in the development of steam-powered boats & locomotives and founded Stevens Institute of Technology. Present owner Nat Conti and architect Jeffrey Beer took on the task of restoring and updating the home including the addition of an entire new wing and a main kitchen. The entertainment level replicates a Parisian street scene with a courtyard and a home theater complete with lobby, café, and candy counter. The grounds include formal gardens, a reflecting pool with ornamental water plants and a swimming pool pavilion with a center fountain and cherub fountains. This home is listed at $16.75 million.

In the case of hip-hop clothing designer Marc Ecko, it's hard not to blame the real estate. The NY Posts reports that Ecko has been forced to give up control of his own trademark in a move to stave off a total meltdown. He signed over a 51 percent interest in the Marc Ecko brand to Iconix, a New York company that owns brands like Joe Boxer, Candie's, Rocawear and London Fog for $63.5 million in cash plus $90 million in financing for a newly formed joint venture.

Ecko's penchant for lavish spending led him to invest in some pretty pricey properties. He is currently trying to lease out space in his 280,000- square-foot headquarters in Midtown. The building includes everything from a recording studio to a basketball court. As Ecko told the Post, he's had "a crazy, wild ride." Part of that wild ride also includes his 30-acre estate in Bernardsville, New Jersey. The estate known as Stronghold was bought by Ecko and his wife, Allison for $7.4 million in 2005. Since then they've spent in excess of $20 million in construction costs to renovate and update the home. The estate, which was originally was built by Prudential Insurance founder and US Sen. John Dryden in 1899, is not for sale but it might not move quickly if it was placed on the market. It's the sort of white elephant which has a tendency to linger in the MLS.

While the construction on the house was taking place Ecko and his family stayed in a four-bedrom Colonial home next door. That home was listed for sale in March for $1.299 million. The home is on five acres and has been renovated with a gourmet kitchen. It includes a master bedroom suite with a walk-in closet, a downstairs recreation room and a bonus room with daylight windows and a full bath. It remains on the market with a reduced price of $1.099 million.

When this blog launched in December 2004 one of my very first celebrity real estate stories was about Eddie Murphy's Bubble Hill estate in New Jersey. In five years many things have changed but Murphy's desire to unload this mansion hasn't abated. The estate immortalized in Murphy's song "Bubble Hill" in 1989 recently went through a renovation to make is as blandly luxurious as possible.

The 32-room house is on a four acre knoll in the Englewood's East Hill section. The gated and walled,mansion is around 25,000 square feet and includes large entertaining areas. While much of the home has been smoothed out and beiged-up to appeal to the masses one thing still survives, the wood-paneled billiard room with the red curtains, jukebox and the neon signs spelling out "Bubble Hill." This home was at $30 million five years ago making it the most expensive single-family home in the state at the time. At its current price of $14.99 million, it's no longer even the most expensive home in Englewood.



UPDATE: The Real Estalker reminds me this isn't the only Hill in Eddie Murphy's live. Clove Hill Farm, which we covered in 2006 when it was listed at $9.95 million is now listed at $5.95 million.

A recent post on the Real Estalker inspired me to take a look at the real estate doings of Kimora Lee Simmons. Simmons and ex-husband Russell Simmons have a variety of properties. Kimora made our slow sellers list for a home in the Beverly Hills Post office area that she was trying to sell for over a year but after knocking the price down to the price she bought it for ($5.9 million) it has been pulled from the market. Meanwhile Simmons has put a modest three-bedroom ranch-style home in East Hampton, New York on the market for $800,000. The simple home has none of Kimora's ostentatious style and may have been used for guests.

For a real look at Kimora's style check out the Saddle River, New Jersey home that Kimora Lee and Russell have been trying to sell for a few years. We've been talking about this home for a few years but never given in full estate of the day treatment. It was once listed for $23.888 million dropped to $19.888 million and then pulled off the market. But as Homes of the Rich pointed out last month, the exes are giving it another trying, relisting the lavish mansion at $16.5 million. The 10-bedroom home famous for its cinema-worthy home theater, professional fitness center, wine cellar with bar seating and painted rotunda has made the rounds of various television shows and magazines. It has both indoor and outdoor pools, staff quarters, a pool house and a security system designed by the White House security company.

Today's estate of the day submission comes from a reader tip (reminder: feel free to send me links of homes you think should be featured). This home was built in 1990 by Norwegian builder Knut Jeppoestol and sits on the waterfront in Little Silver, New Jersey. It's on Little Silver Creek offering a straight boat ride to the ocean. The waterfront backyard offers docking for a yacht up to 50 feet as well as a ramp to service other watercraft. There is also a pool and the 1.4 acre property includes a four-car garage. The interior has a mildly Scandinavian design scheme and an open floor plan. The home has high ceilings, the great room ceiling height is over 32 feet and the master bedroom is 24 feet. The five-bedroom home includes a gym, sunroom and gourmet kitchen. It is listed at $2.395 million.

The Froh Heim Mansion takes its name from the German words for "happy home"and whoever wins the home's auction on September 26 might be very happy indeed. The home in Far Hills, New Jersey is on 11 acres and was originally built for a mining industrialist by venerable New York City architects Peabody, Wilson and Brown. The Mediterranean style home has 16 rooms with seven bedrooms. It was built on a grand scale, a 47-foot banquet dining room includes a limestone fireplace and four crystal chandeliers. The home has been updated with modern features including central air conditioning. The grounds include a pool, wine cellar, barn and two caretaker apartments. The auction is being held with no minimum reserve bid but this home was previously offered for sale for $8.9 million.

You might think that Beverly HIlls' 90210 would be the U.S.'s most expensive zip code. A zip code in New York City? Wrong again. Forbes says that the most expensive zip code for 2009 is 07620, Alpine, New Jersey. The posh burb full of huge houses has a median home price of $4,139,041. The town has been home to Britney Spears, Sean Combs, Russell Simmons and Eddie Murphy, The most expensive property on the market in the zip code is the manor house at the former Frick Estate. The 27-acre property is listed at $59 million.

There are a lot of great old houses on the market lately. This one, a seven-bedroom Victorian sits on a hill on 2.4 acres in Old Short Hills, New Jersey. It has been restored and renovated which in this case means new marble bathrooms with separate showers.The woodwork in this home is gorgeous. It has wood coffered ceilings, wood panels and wainscoting but the large wide windows keep it being too heavy and dark. Crystal chandeliers and ornate marble fireplace surrounds add to the feel of Victorian charm. The home was built circa 1900 but gets a little modern in the lower level which has been recently renovated but still has the original brick archways. The grounds include a tennis court, pool with pool house and a matching stone four-car garage. It is listed at $11.9 million.

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Today's home occupies an enviable swath of land on the Navesink river on the New Jersey shore. The residence measures 6,232 square feet and sits on 13.09 acres of land that includes over 650 feet of Navesink riverfront beach with a dock. The sense of privacy and calm is a major draw here on a property that is a ferry ride away from New York City and located near the popular Red Bank area. In recent years, Red Bank has drawn luxury retailers to the area including Tiffany & Co

The land includes the original estate gates and the home is down a long tree-lined drive. Across the street there are over 100 acres of riding trails which were part of the original estate but are now preserved land. The home has graceful lines including Ionic columns and framing huge windows that showcase the views. The home has seven fireplaces, each with a distinctive style, and ten bedrooms total. Part of the lot can be subdivided into a single waterfront building lot of 3.89 acres. The property is priced at $14.999 million down from $16.75 million.


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The real estate market in Aspen, CO has recovered somewhat and its priciest zip code is now the most expensive neighborhood in the U.S., according to a new ranking by Forbes. Back in February we reported on the dire straits of Aspen real estate, when Sotheby's International Realty shuttered its Aspen office in the wake of plummeting sales. Now Aspen's south end 81611 zip code, home to ultra-luxe ski lodges, is top of the field with an impressive $6.5 million median home sale price, the magazine reports. However the seasonal nature of the Aspen market gives it a yearly boost which might well mean its triumph is temporary; and indeed the big picture is still pretty glum. "In 2007, the market in our valley was $2 billion in sales," top Aspen broker Steve Walker tells Forbes, "this year it'll be between $500 million and $1 billion. In volume and dollars, it's been a 50% drop."

We predict that Beverly Hills, which is currently in 3rd place, will quickly eclipse Aspen especially since a mansion was just sold there for $31.5 million, the most expensive property sold in California so far this year, while a second recently changed hands for $22 million. The former, a 27,000-sq.-ft. Norman-style estate on 2 acres with 10 bedrooms, 14 baths and seven fireplaces, had originally been listed at $45 million and was on the market for almost nine months. Aspen's neighboring Snowmass Village has also experienced a resurgence. Other neighborhoods that have clocked recent gains include the Hollywood Hills and Chappaqua, NY, while the second most expensive zip belongs to Alpine, NJ, a luxurious New York suburb home to Wall Street execs and rap moguls like Sean Combs and Damon Dash.

Want to live in the country's priciest zip? There are several choice Aspen properties available including this $60 million estate, this $58 million spread and this cozy $43.8 million ski lodge. Here's the new list of the top five most expensive zip codes in the U.S. as determined by median prices (which are quite high overall right now at the top end):

1. Aspen, CO, 81611: $6.5 million
2. Alpine, NJ, 07620: $4.7 million
3. Beverly Hills, CA, 90210: $4.04 million
4. Snowmass Village, CO, 81654: $3.99 million
5. Newport, CA, 92661: $3.9 million

The economy seems to have prompted another museum to consider a major deaccessioning. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey will sell 50 works from the museum's permanent collection. Christie's has prepared a prospectus for the pieces and predicts that the sale could bring in between $2.9 million and $4.3 million for the museum. Among the pieces for sale is a Jackson Pollock drawing valued at $300,000 to $500,000. The museum has said it will use the funds for future art purchases.

According to the Journal article the museum has been selling things off for a while. And last January, it shipped off its 6,000-volume art library as a gift to Montclair State University . The museum may sell its costume and rug collections next and the Native American artworks could also be in peril.

The Association of Art Museum Directors forbids museums from using the sale of art in their permanent collections to pay for general operating expenses or to underwrite loans but deaccessioning can be a way to refine a museum's focus, selling things that don't fit the vision to acquire things that do. But lately the continued paring down has the public, and potential donors, concerned. James Panero's article in the Journal seems to indicate that there are a variety of factors to consider in the Montclair Art Museum sale and that the reasons for this particular deaccessioning are far from cut and dried. Collections carefully put together over years and time represent a particular mission to both the museum and the community it serves and so care must be taken to make sure that the art itself just doesn't become any emergency bailout package.

Earlier this month the NY Post reported that fashion designer Marc Ecko had listed a colonial home he owns in New Jersey for $1.299 million in order to help satisfy more than $2.1 million in construction liens for his New Jersey castle, Stronghold. Now the Post reveals that Ecko has more problems than just his castle, which he reportedly has spent nearly $22 million fixing up.

The Post says that Ecko has hired investment bank Peter J. Solomon to help refinance at least $170 million in debt. The debts are owed to a couple of important business partners. If he can't find a willing lender, Ecko may have to sell off some assets. Like many fashion outfits, the Marc Ecko brand took a hit during the past retail season. The Post's sources say the company owes more than $100 million to Li & Fung, a global trading company that helps manufacture Marc Ecko products. He also also defaulted on a term loan of more than $70 million from a syndicate led by commercial-lending giant CIT and although he won forbearance on the loan, CIT will have to be paid by summer.

Michael Golden, chief marketing officer at Marc Ecko Enterprises, shrugged off concerns to the Post saying that the company is still strong. Rumors persist that the company is trying to lease out part of its new York City headquarters. A few years ago, Ecko contemplated offers from Jones Apparel Group and Tommy Hilfiger in the $500 million range but would be hard-pressed to find a similar deal now.

Shawn Carmody, of Phillipsburg, NJ, has made a habit of sending care packages to soldiers. Currently a police officer and owner of the Riverside Cigar Shoppe, he has been keeping New Jersey National Guard soldiers equipped with the accoutrements of tobacconic enjoyment. Thanks to Carmody, citizen-soldiers serving with C/102nd Cavalry have been receiving cigars, cutters and other related items from his store.

Carmody's friend, 1SG Tom Decker, is the top enlisted man in this unit (i.e. Charlie Company) and the benefactor's point of contact for the donations that ultimately wind up in the hands of many military personnel. This isn't Carmody's first care package ... that was a shipment of Tastykakes sent to Jimmy Polacari in Honduras in the late 1980s.

C/102nd Cav is expected to come home to Hackettstown, NJ in June, but Decker couldn't wait that long to express his thanks. So, he sent Carmody an American flag that had flown over Camp Syverson, Iraq – a substantial gesture that has no direct translation in the civilian world.

If you're inspired by Carmody's act of generosity, you can take action. Check out Cigars for Soldiers, an organization that has already sent more than 7,000 to U.S. military personnel overseas. (Many thanks to Don Pepin Garcia for his recent donation of five boxes.)

For a while Tusculum was the most expensive property listed in Princeton, New Jersey. It's lingered on the market for two years and is now down to $9.75 million from a high of $12 million when it was our estate of the day. On top now is this charming Georgian manor house on 22 acres. The brick home and matching outbuildings share a classic style. The gracious older home is decorated in a formal style that makes you want to sit up a little straighter. It includes a breakfast room, conservatory and six bedrooms including a master suite. Things get a little more laid back on the third floor which is where you find the home theater, a wet bar and exercise room. The property also has a pool, tennis courts, six-car garage, backup garage, separate office with mahogany paneling and a billiard room, a caretaker's apartment and a greenhouse. It is listed at $14.5 million.
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Today's estate belongs to one of the icons of the modeling world, Ford Models founder, Eileen Ford. Ford, who is now 86, lost her husband and business partner Jerry Ford earlier this year. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties reports that Ford has had her New Jersey mansion on the market for two years for $8 million. The colonial estate is on a hill with views of the countryside. The 20 acre property includes a main house which was built in 1995, restored after the first house the Fords built there burned nearly to the ground. The home has seven bedrooms and the exquisite interior design includes antique Dutch tiles, and antique German pine paneling in the study in addition to fireplace mantels and lighting fixtures from around the world. It has been reduced to $6.5 million.

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