Atalanta Estate a “Bargain” at $15 million
Heading back east into Dutchess County over the Kingston Rhinecliff Bridge, it’s hard to miss the riverfront property on the northern side of the approach. The Atalanta estate abuts the riverfront with a massive, pristinely manicured lawn. Tucked just out of sight on the 145-acre property is the main 16,600-square-foot,19th-century brick mansion and all the opulence afforded the extremely wealthy of any era. And it can all be yours for just $15 million.
The estate was originally a wedding present to Franklin Hughes Delano and Laura Astor from the father of the bride, Williams Backhouse Astor, the richest man in America at that time. Delano (for whom his great-nephew, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was named) and wife Laura quickly established their ostentatious homestead, first named Steen Valetje (little stone valley), after a creek on the property.
Today, after a major expansion in 1881 under British architect Thomas Stent (famous for building the New York Public Library and the Canadian Parliament buildings), and with other additions over time, the main house remains a stunningly crafted, immodest monument of the unmitigated avarice of the American aristocracy. For those with bottomless bank accounts and timeless vanity, the mansion is dripping with exquisite and elegant historic detail in every room. The property also includes four guest houses, a pool, a Doric temple pool house, stone gatehouse, lanes, lawns, gardens, horse stables, an indoor riding arena, woods and fields, seven barns, a tennis court, and a greenhouse. Lands north, east and south of the property are conservation areas.
It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the most spectacular historical property currently for sale in the region, so why is it still on the market? Graham Klemm of Klemm Real Estate in Connecticut says it’s not for a lack of trying.
“It’s not our fault!” he says with a laugh. “We have brought (the owners) two offers. We had a buyer six months ago but the owners couldn’t find a new place that was up to their standards to move to in time.”
Klemm says the owners are older and looking to downsize in square footage but not opulence. The owners are very secretive, he explains, and will only show the home to potential buyers who have been preapproved. Klemm won't even divulge the name of Atalanta’s owner, though it’s no secret and the compound is named after the company he founded. The property is owned by billionaire Martin Sosnoff, founder of the private investment company Atalanta Sosnoff, estimated to be worth over $12 billion, and wife Toni, philanthropists who have appeared in numerous Rural Intelligence party photos.
While purchasing a property like Atalanta comes at a hefty price and estimated mortgage costs of nearly $90,000 a month, there are also significant yearly maintenance costs to consider (an estimate for which is another secret only for approved buyers). But Klemm says this estate is one of those purchases where if you have to ask about costs, you probably can't afford it.
“If you buy this property you don’t live here every day. It’s a secondary or even tertiary home. You don’t need this house. It’s like buying a Ferrari — it makes a statement.”
Klemm says, however, that folks with enough money to have a second or third home the scope of Atalanta are going to have specific tastes, and the age and design of the historic property will only appeal to those with a particular taste for Gilded Age style. The agent adds that the owners would entertain an offer from an institution or business but wouldn’t want to postpone a sale while an entity acquired municipal permitting.
“The house was built at a time when money was no issue. The directive the family gave to every builder was that the work was to be done to the highest standard,” says Klemm. “This is really in league with the great Newport mansions. It’s secret and not open to the public. It’s one of these rare robber baron houses that don’t exist anymore. There are only a few out there left.”
One percenters, this is your chance to get a piece of American history. And a whole lot more.
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