Way down yonder in the Indian Nation
In 1987, Konover and his family, who were living on Deercliff Road in Avon, learned that a 115-acre spread atop Talcott Mountain, the highest point in Avon, was for sale. Known as Montevideo, the sprawling estate spanned two towns: nearly 87 acres in Avon and 28 acres in Bloomfield. Built for arts patron Daniel Wadsworth, the compound included three cottages, two of which date from the 19th century, three Victorian-era horse barns and a 12-acre lake.
Montevideo can’t be glimpsed from Route 44, but its ridgelines and forests can be seen in several 19th-century paintings by Thomas Cole and John Trumbull, two of the Hudson River Valley School’s most famous artists. Cole, a frequent visitor to Wadsworth’s estate, described the many happy hours he spent there enjoying Montevideo’s sunsets and “shaded rambles,” in his journals and correspondence.
By the time Konover set eyes on the original house in 1987, designed by Wadsworth and Trumbull in 1809, it had been severely altered. During the second half of the 20th century, the main house had served as a women’s retreat and “the top floor and had been removed and several wings removed,” said Konover, founder of Konover Construction.
But the distressed house was not the selling point.
Konover was smitten by the setting, the views of Litchfield County, the Farmington Valley and the private spring-fed lake, which according to historians was one of Mark Twain’s favorite swimming holes, said Bif Carrington, the a property’s listing agent. Carrington’s sources include the 1983 book, “The Correspondence of Thomas Cole and Daniel Wadsworth,” and the Connecticut Historical Society.
Check out the pictures in the linked-to article. Very nice house. But who has this kind of money in Hartford? I’m not familiar with its business scene but things weren’t booming when I attended school there in the late 70′s and so far as my idle curiosity has observed since, nothing has changed for the better.
Could Avon be considered a weekend vacation spot? Will it support a $19 million cottage? I suspect we’ll have several years to find out.
UPDATE: in 2007, Konover won an appeal of the Avon tax assessor’s valuation of $4.4 million on this place and had his own appraiser’s valuation of $3.1 million substituted therefore. Ironic, but who among us does not like to pay lower taxes? The suit really says nothing about the actual value (Konover paid $6 million for the land itself in 1987), but offers an interesting view of the disconnect between what a property can be valued at for tax purposes and what it’s really worth. Greenwich back country owners, take notice.
UPDATE: ”Bif Carrington” has got to be a stage name.
i know this area like the back of my hand. the house is up by the talcott mountain science center where they do some weather-related studies. the last time i was there, they were trying to get permission to put up a wind tower; I don’t know if they succeeded. but stellar views for sure.
avon and simsbury are pretty, easy to get to hartford (but who wants to get to hartford?); certainly not like the nw corner of connecticut like sharon and salisbury where the hedgies have $20m weekend houses. avon is about 90+ minutes from here, exit 39 off 84, then zip across some pretty roads to where this house is. farmington has some multi-multi-million $ homes, boxers go there to train, so it’s not totally out of the realm to see this house fetch a big price tag. Not for me. i might have gone for a dark green trim color and not electric teal, but i’m not buying so…..
one of the best things to do when in that area is to see the heublein tower. the heublien hq was up there for years, a very modern structure seen from 84 but it has long since been closed but the tower stands.
http://www.friendsofheubleintower.org/
In Googling the place, I saw that the owner sued that science center for using what he considered to be his private road. He lost.
There must be some money up there – you need to check out West Harford center if you haven’t in a while – Blue Back Square is very vibrant! The restaurant scene is terrific and the town has 2 Whole Foods – and both are larger than the one we have in Greenwich.
My client wants this house for his maid. He’s a janitor at the Food Stamp office.
Montevideo road is the access to both the science center and his house, although his driveway splits off at a bend. I wouldn’t like that one bit. For $19m, I’d like my own driveway. And that driveway is a bitch in the winter. Avon+ area gets some pretty heavy snow falls and atop the mountain, even more, plus the winds. Put it this way, if you find you are out of milk, it’s no easy jaunt to town to get a gallon, or some cigs. I don’t see many people wanting that complete privacy (isolation). It’s one thing to have that isolation in a cabin in the woods for a vacation or weekends, but full-time? No.
And with just four bedrooms, not much space for people you can send out for such things.
I do think the property comes with one or two guest houses. For the staff.
Well in that case, I’ll pay $18,000,000!
Amazing house, but with having to share your driveway with the science center – what good is the 100+ acres?? The point of that much acreage would at least be to have a private drive and of course to not have to worry about a neighbor putting up a windmill…
Would be very awesome if you could track this property, Chris, and report on when/if it sells. The price will be interesting, but even more so, the buyer – if its not an LLC. I’m surprised they didn’t clear more of the land.
the one and only, bif
http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/associate/180-a-674-4004341/bif-carrington