Posted on 06/02/2016 4:02:59 PM PDT by Daffynition
SOMERS, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut home that is a replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello has been sold at auction for more than $2.1 million, far below the $7.7 million it cost to build just two years ago.
The mansion was built by S. Prestley Blake, a co-founder of the Massachusetts-based Friendly's restaurant chain and a longtime admirer of Jefferson. The 101-year-old ice cream magnate has never lived in it, but held functions inside.
The listing agent, Sherri Milkie of William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty, tells The Republican newspaper of Springfield, Massachusetts, that the 10,000-square foot home in Somers was sold Tuesday to a local doctor. She did not disclose a name. Jack Hoyt, project sales manager for Concierge Auctions of New York City, says the buyer plans to move into the home.
(Excerpt) Read more at ctpost.com ...
Bet it's a surgeon. They've got both the money and the necessary attitude.
Nice house, wrong location.
Orthopedic surgeon. Maybe.
Thomas Jefferson was vexed by the costs associated with his home; perhaps the loss associated with the selling price adds to the authenticity.
RU saying *Somers, CT* isn’t the most wonderful place in the world? :)
Perhaps there will be *ghosts* in the basement....and we can all go to see a *FF spinning in his grave.*
Just the wrong place to put a southern President’s home. It’s not designed for the colder climate nor do I think the Jefferson name has the same reverence it has in Virginia.
The exterior looks like Monticello, but the few photos of the interior look like a freeway interchange Marriott Suites Hotel.
From the pictures, it has an up to date kitchen. I'm sure it also has a modern heating systems and insulation.
Somers is beautiful. Very Town and Country in some parts.
Far enough away from Hartford so that the riff raff stay away. Once in a while a Masshole will stumble in, but they are dealt with quickly.
It used to be tobacco country, and there are a few farms there.
I knew the owner when I was a kid. My mom and Dad were friends of his.
I recall that the original had some design flaws and that might have been a roof that did not drain well. I wonder if they fixed that.
I love the real Monticello, go there every few years and marvel.
Can’t match the original - neat place to visit - standing in Jefferson’s small bedroom when the guide tells you that that little bed not five feet away is the one where Jefferson died is somehow awesome......
So, he already used it as a tax write-off. No problem about the other $5.6 milliion, then.
How do you know that?
As a realtor I think the owner “over built the neighborhood.”
It is a $2 million neighborhood, not a $7 million neighborhood.
Just speculating. If he is still a major shareholder or officer and he hosted business colleagues, he could write off many expenses, maybe not the whole $5 mil.
I believe he is 100 y/o; I don’t question people who are 100 y/o.
“This is my swan song,” Blake said. “This is the last thing I’ll leave for posterity. I want this too be an asset to the community.”
Blake doesn’t plan to live in the home himself. Instead he hopes to sell to a worthy buyer
“I know I won’t make a profit on it,” Blake said, adding that he plans to personally interview potential buyers. “It has to be someone who is wealthy enough to support it and someone who can be a benefit to the community.”
He plans a plaque at the repro-place:
“I am as happy no where else and in no other society, and all my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.”
Something’s not right about it, the proportions are off. It’s sitting too low to the ground and the windows seem too small also.
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