Mary Anselmo, widow of Rene, has put her North Street “Le Petite Trianon” up for sale with Brad Hvolbeck. $39,000,000, 18 acres, all that – it’s about the most prominent house in Greenwich, I think, far surpassing Leona’s digs up on Round Hill because, after all, this place is so accessable – no need to travel far north, you just drop your kids off at North Street School and there you are. In fact, back in 1970 or so, we used to drive down the driveway to show the place to friends who hadn’t seen it – it’s kind of like that apocryphal Texan: all hat, no cattle, because it seems to be all of ten foot wide.
That’s not accurate, of course – today’s advertising for the place (which is how I learned it was for sale – no MLS listing here) claims something like 12,000 sq. ft. and I guess it is. But it sure is narrow.
I am assuming that if it’s not going on the multiple listing service we aren’t going to have a broker open house, but I’ll bug Brad and see if I can’t get in for a real report. Seems like the coolest property in Greenwich and that would be fun to write up.
For What It's Worth 
One of my fav houses in Greenwich. Is it true Anselmo funded the daffodils on North St.? And the white street signs, too?
Yes, yes and yes, Warlock. Rene was a wonderful guy. There are so many wonderful stories about this man, some of which I have recounted here on this blog, but one that is typical of the man is the day he was driving to the dump and noticed the dreadful condition of the Hamilton Avenue School’s playground. By Monday, the school had a check from Rene for $700,000 to build something better. As I said, just a wonderful, generous man.
Location location location. Close to town…forget about backcountry.
Actually this is nothing new. Since 1999, I have been hearing from all agents that buyers are more interested in areas close to town than backcountry.
You feel bad for owners of places like 309 Taconic, 160 John.
But personally, I would buy 487 North before 406. The difference in final sale price can build a huge mansion on 487 and more. They are both close to town, one across the street from cemetery and the other across the street from dingletown.
Rene is also the man we can thank for the absence of real estate “for sale” signs in town. Back in the late 1980s, when the national real estate franchises came to town and began posting prominent signs, he drove around with black spray paint, destroying them whenever he could. As I remember, a no-sign agreement among realtors soon followed.
It was an act of civil disobedience for which we should all be grateful.
Indeed so as I have written here before.
we have a lovely niche at St. Mary’s Cemetery just across the street. We only paid 500 bucks. How can we pay for something on North Street while living for only 500 bucks? 😉
We can only afford Wilton now…
Is Greenwich the only town in Ffld County that lacks real estate signs? I don’t recall any neighboring towns doing this.
Long story, Accolay but basically, yes. I’ll write about it soon.
Some towns in Westchester (Pleasantville, for example) don’t have them either. Mine, unfortunately, isn’t among them. What really bugs me are the signs agents post at nearby intersections, directing potential buyers to the house. Those seem to mysteriously disappear when I go for an early morning run.
There are three comparable houses for sale on a nice street where I run. Two are priced within 5% of each other, and a third is 30% more than the other two. The guy who is priced back in 2007 is the one with the signs at all the nearby intersections. He’s fanatical about replacing them when the coyotes and bears pull them up and toss them into the bushes too. I guess that’s his strategy for finding buyers who won’t notice the prices for the other two houses.
One thing that amazed me the last time I sold a house was how many people seemed to shop for real estate by driving around looking for “for sale” signs. We’d frequently get a call from the listing agent saying that someone wanted a showing immediately. I’d ask “Where are they?” and I’d get the answer “Parked out in front – they saw the sign”. Looky loo’s mostly. This was in 2003, so listings were readily available on the web.
“Those seem to mysteriously disappear when I go for an early morning run.”
God bless those coyotes and bears!
I noticed yesterday that the seller who thinks it’s still 2007 has tried to outsmart the bears by using plastic wire ties to affix his sign to a traffic sign. Little does he know that bears frequently carry pruning shears that can easily cut wire ties.