Filed under: Estates

This one intrigues me because it’s a nice example of taking an existing building and creating a new structure. This home in the Ellsworth section of Sharon, Connecticut started with a Meeting Home, built in 1812. There’s a beautiful main room with original wide-plank floors, enormous windows, and a huge working fireplace. The upper portion of the Meeting House has been converted to living/guest quarters with rustic details and marble bath. In the rest of the home there’s also a first floor master bedroom suite with massive master bath, additional second floor master bedroom suite, large home office, pantry/utility room, radiant heated floors and a three-car attached garage. The home is on 5.69 acres with stone walls and ponds. It is listed at $2.495 million.

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Activists Bare Teeth Over Foreclosures
Salon - A&E Books Comics Community Life Movies News & Politics View Sports Tech & Business Their homes on small lots were modest, but maintained with pride. Have a look at what’s left.

Grand Forks to regulate bright lights
Jamestown Sun - The small business is quite dependent on that form of advertising, that primary mobile market - the people that drive by your front door.” Walstad said he is worried that more cities are starting to impose moratoriums, particularly in Minnesota.

Sigourney’s advice for young stars
Croydon Guardian - I’m at the two ends of the spectrum of the business this week,” she added. “I’m involved in a small intimate motion picture like Be Kind Rewind, which I found so touching, and then, Vantage Point, this very big stirring edge-of-your-seat thriller.

Business Calendar
Baltimore Sun - Small-business financing // free panel discussion run by j-ref, a not-for-profit funding source for Howard County startups, on the SBA 504 program, 8 a.m., Howard Community College, Gateway Campus Bldg., 6751 Gateway Drive, Columbia.

TV advert helps Ladbrokes to a 46% increase in profits
Times On the internet - A £240 million losing streak by a small number of high-roller telephone punters and Britain’s first TV advertising campaign by a bookmaker combined to produce a record year for Ladbrokes. The company, which competes with William Hill for the

ScamState: Pump and dump schemes
St. Petersburg Times - Pump and dump schemes revolve around stock in small companies, whose executives may be perpetrators or victims. A key point is the stock is “thinly traded” - with infrequent transactions and few buyers and sellers - which makes the price easier to

Japan Looks to a Robot Future
Forbes - TOKYO - At a university lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six Related Business Topics Starting A Small Business Small Business Loans

Natural-product makersnlearn the rules of the jungle
Taipei Times - And a lot of people believe we would taint ourselves by doing business at Wal-Mart.” Whole Foods, meanwhile, is striving to remain very special as the small upstart brands that have come to define the store are being lured by buyout offers and bigger

Lean-Centric Information Systems and Technology
Industry Week - From 1991 through 2004, Cunningham was a leader in Lantech’s evolution of a small, family owned business to a lean industry leader. Lantech’s Lean Journey was chronicled in the best seller, Lean Thinking.

Drought, growth have Western says studying dams again
Seattle Times - desalination plants to make drinking water from the ocean, small dams to serve local areas. Most of those ideas are much more popular than huge new dams. In Washington say, Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire put together a coalition of business

Comcast pays stand-ins to keep protesters out of FCC hearing
Detroit Free Press - Google’s idea is to let teachers, small business owners and the like set up free Google-hosted Web pages for online collaboration, a company Intranet team and project management.

Car sales up, bikes skid
Daily Pioneer - BUSINESS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT WORLD EDIT PAGE OP-ED Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday proposed to bring down excise duty on small automobiles to 12 per cent from the previous

Activists Bare Teeth Over Foreclosures
Newsday - Their homes on small lots were modest, but maintained with pride. Have a look at what’s left. Business News on the Web

Statement by SBA Administrator on the Andean Trade Preference
Forbes - WASHINGTON, March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Steve Preston, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, made the following statement this day on President George W. Bush’s signing of H.R. 5264, the “Andean Trade Preference Extension Act

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Filed under: Estates

I was going to leave this one for the Sunday Real Estate Round-Up but I couldn’t wait. Stone Hill in Greenwich, Connecticut is one of the homes belonging to Tommy Hilfiger. According to information from the NY Post the designer will be moving into the Plaza in Manhattan when his duplex is completed. Hilfiger bought this new home in 2005 for $18 million and worked his decorator magic. The 20,000-square-foot home has seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a huge great room, basketball court, spa with a waterfall, theater, gym and a big 2,000-bottle wine cellar.

I’m a tiny humiliated by just how much I love the decor on this one. In general I’m not a fan of a home decorated to within an inch of its life but this one is an excellent product of the Ralph Lauren/Tommy Hilfiger luxe American style.The decorator did a great job incorporating the art and the home is luxurious without being overly formal. It’s similar in style to his Further Lane property (which he recently sold for $26.5 million) right down to the use of orange accents. This one is listed at $27.9 million.

[Thanks, Lana]

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Filed under: Estates

The Pink Palace isn’t pink any more but the mansion in Atlanta’s Buckhead area retains the name from the time when it was pink. The mansion was built in 1926 for the Rhodes Furniture family and is a six-bedroom stucco Italian Baroque-style home on four acres at the corner of West Paces Ferry and Tuxedo roads. The home was designed by Atlanta architects Neel Reid and Philip Schutze and has large public rooms designed for grand amusing. The murals are absolutely dazzling. What makes this one even more interesting is the renovation. it has been remodeled so that it runs on geothermal energy (turning a $6500 a month energy bill into an apartment-sized $150). They removed 18 layers of lead paint from the doors, windows and walls and all doors and door frames were removed, made square, and put back in. The attic on top of the sun room and family room was changed turning the ceilings/roofs into floors. The servants quarters were transformed into more massive living space. It’s an odd mix, you’ve rooms that are typically old South, grand and ornate, but you also have light-filled modern spaces with clean lines. The graceful renovation made the home modern and sustainable but managed to maintain its original style in the original rooms. At $20 million it’s the most costly listing in Atlanta.

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Filed under: Estates

The location alone makes this one total estate of the day bait. Then we add in the names, the eight-bedroom home was built in 1890 by Gilded Age architect Stanford White and the exterior layout was designed by the king of landscape architects Fredrick Law Olmsted. The property in Larchmont, New York has a fantastic location on a private peninsula on almost three acres. The views of Long Island, Westchester and New York City are nothing short of fantastic. The listing states a renovation took place in 1994 but this big 21,000 square foot home looks like it is need of a massive scoop of loving care and a lot of cash to make it sparkle. It’s priced at $14 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The date has finally been set, unless the situation drastically changes, Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch will be sold at auction on March 19 becoming what is likely the country’s most famous foreclosure. According to Fox News, Jackson received word Monday from Financial Title Company that unless he comes up with $24,525,906.61 by that date, a public auction will go forward in Santa Barbara in front of the county courthouse. The house and everything inside and around, personal property, the rides on the grounds, all of it is going.

Jackson hasn’t been spotted at Neverland since June 2005. In that time he’s lived in Bahrain, Ireland and Las Vegas among other pit stops on his global tour. It is assumed that Jackson will just do nothing and let the property go up for auction since he probably does not have the money although he refinanced his $300 million loan from Fortress Investments with help from Sony Music, HSBC and Barclays Bank.

Jackson moved out of Neverland after he was acquitted of child molestation charges. He did pay around $600,000 in property taxes last month. If no one bids on Neverland then Fortress Investments will take possession of the property and will likely put it on the market through a Santa Barbara real estate agent.

UPDATE: CNN quotes a Jackson source as saying Michael is trying to work out the financing.

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Filed under: Estates

Looking at this home in the Peapack area of New Jersey I would guess that it was either an old restored home or a brand new aspirational home. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The MLS lists it as having been built during the 1960s. Vernon Manor is a Georgian-inspired brick manor with a slate roof on 76 acres of land (five parcels total). The property includes lawns, terraces, specimen plantings, a circulating Italian fountain, a guest/pool home, heated pool, brick and stonewalls. The main home is an elegant five bedroom with truly elegant living and dining rooms (although I’m not loving some of the window treatments). The home has a circular staircase and many beautiful windows. The library has a fireplace inlaid with plaster bas-relief, built-in cabinets, bookshelves, moldings and paneling. In the gallery, bookshelves and cabinetry hide a wet bar designed with a painted mural. The master suite includes a gallery space, master bedroom with brick fireplace, dressing area with dressing table, three closets, built-in dresser, and bath with whirlpool tub. The master sitting room has another full marble bath with steam shower. The secondary bedroom wing has two bedrooms, a gallery space, home office, plus an in-law or staff suite with kitchenette and sitting room. This estate is listed at $13.5 million (down from $15 million).

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Filed under: Estates

Today’s home is a bit of old Hollywood tradition in Pacific Palisades, California. The home is now on Amalfi Drive but was built in 1924 with an address on Haldeman Road. At that time, the Uplifters Club owned Rustic Canyon where several members built homes. It is stated that the home was designed by architect William Dodd, an Uplifters Club member who designed what’s now the Rustic Canyon Recreation Center. The home was later purchased by Hal Roach Studios, and became a Hollywood hangout for some of Hollywood’s early large stars such as Harold Lloyd, Jean Harlow and Will Rogers. It was reputedly occupied by Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy during his divorces. The home is, as the listing admits, in need of a lot of work but it has, as they say, lovely bones. The property website states “restoration or wrecking ball?” Restoration, please! This home is listed at $5 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Journeys

The Everlands destination club is a relatively new club for those with a passion for the outdoor life. Members have unlimited access to 45 of the most iconic places of natural beauty on Earth, and Everlands promises to conserve these destinations for future generations. The Club has also established a Conservation Foundation that’ll award The Everlands Conservation Prize annually to individuals who demonstrate innovation, creativity and daring in conserving nature. The award is funded by a portion of Membership fees and annual dues.

The first destination to become part of Everlands is the Point on Saranac Lake in New York’s Adirondacks region. This former Rockefeller estate is ranked as one of the top boutique lodges in the world. Other properties that are part of the first acquisition phase include Lone Mountain Ranch in Montana; Lake Rotoroa Lodge in New Zealand; The Inn at Blueberry Hill on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; Mangrove Cay Club in the Bahamas; Bristol Bay Lodge in Alaska; and Castle Hot Springs in Arizona. Future acquisitions will include a country estate in Devon, England; a wild partridge habitat in central Spain; an Atlantic salmon property in Iceland; an estancia in Patagonia; and a game reserve in Kenya.

Membership to Everlands is by invitation only. Each Member pays a one-time Membership fee, as well as annual Club dues. Everlands is owned entirely by its Members, who own a pro rata equity interest in the Club Membership Corporation. Everlands Members co-own the land, buildings, and all real property. The Membership fee is $1 million, with early-in opportunities for Founding Membership starting at $475,000 and there are annual dues of $40,000. A 15 percent deposit is required by each Member when they sign up and will be returned with interest if initial Membership goals are not achieved. The balance is due when the Club secures 100 Members, at which time the properties will be available to Members only. Until then, Everlands properties will continue to operate as usual and are open to all guests.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

It is fitting on Oscar Sunday to look at a building actually owned by an Oscar nominee, director Julian Schnabel. Schnabel directed the heartbreakingly beautiful movie “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” This was Schnabel’s third movie (he also directed Basquiat and Before Night Falls).

I’m a bit biased about the case of Julian Schnabel. I’ve had a massive crush on him since first seeing his broken plate art in the 1980s. Since then as his ample frame has grown, so too has my affection. The prospect of seeing what he will wear to the Oscars makes me giddy after all he’s been known to show up at awards in a pajama top or in a tablecloth-like sarong. While lately his yellow-lensed glasses aren’t winning my heart, I love a man willing to flaunt a large hairy chest.

The Schnabel is a genius and no one knows that superior than he does. His ego has also gained a fair bit of attention. Which brings us to Palazzo Chupi, the greatest monument to that ego. The building which is colored “Pompeii Red” but often photographs as pink has caused no end of controversy and speculation in New York’s West Village. Richard Gere and his model wife have bought in here as has a finance person from Credit Suisse. Rumor has it that both Bono and Madonna had considered but have decided against life at Chupi.

The NY Times has the listing for the $27 million duplex and Curbed has the floorplan for the penthouse triplex. There are details to love here. The homes have a very European feel and the Schnabel is a man with a highly-skilled eye so you get cast bronze door handles, lovely stone fireplaces and cast stone railings. The sense of space here’s lovely, I’m not sure of the ceiling height but there is just a real expansiveness here. The chandeliers alone speak of a certain type of eccentricity.

There are also things not to love. The kitchen with it’s green tiles is just a wee bit too reminiscent of the types of older kitchens you usually have to destroy to build your dream kitchen. I know New York is a dine out city but still for that much money you want to be able to cook and or entertain in your kitchen. The basement pool, at least as shown in the recent issue of Vanity Fair, scares me, it says more horror motion picture than a place to do your morning laps. You aren’t getting that much space for your cash here either. The $27 million duplex offers 3,850 square feet and the $32 million triplex is 3,845 square feet. Not small but a whole lot of money for the size. What I want to know is how much Schnabel access the price buys you. Do you get to hang out with him and his ethereally beautiful wife and his glamorous children? Does he invite you to dinner celebrations and let you look at his paintings in progress? Because honestly, that’s the only way these apartments are actually worth the price.

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