Bargain hunting at Newport's mansions
Newport This Week, February 22, 2008 by Tom Shevlin, Newport This Week Writer
When Newport's plutocratic "400" graced Bellevue Avenue during Newport's Gilded Age, few on the exclusive social registry would have thought that one day the palatial mansions that were built as testaments to their enormous wealth would ever be labeled bargain priced.
When the Astors were employing Irish immigrants as servants at their estates, it seems unlikely that many of the Irish diaspora would have guessed that one day one of those mansions would be compared to a townhouse in Dublin. However, as the dollar has soured and emerging wealth in Europe has begun to enjoy the rewards of a robust Euro, this once-preeminent resort community has become a bargain destination.
During the height of its colonial power, Newport - not New York or Boston - reigned as the center of commerce and wealth. When the Industrial Revolution took root alongside the Blackstone River, Newport served as its gateway to foreign and domestic markets, And when magnets, moguls, and socialites sought to galvanize their wealth with lavish homes and extravagance for extravagance sake, they gilded Newport as their summer destination. Now, the Gilded Age is for sale.
In an ironic twist, the homes that were once inspired by regal European estates are now attracting European buyers. For the globetrotting super-rich where the dollar was once the preferred currency, the Euro now rules. And for those individuals flush with Euros, Newport's famed gilded mansions have suddenly become a bargain. Recognizing the potential of catering to overseas market, real estate firms are beginning to direct their attention due east.
Leading the way in Rhode Island is Narragansett-based Lila Delman Real Estate. The Delman agency, which began dealing primarily in Narragansett's rental market has ascended to the upper reaches of Rhode Island's coastal real estate market under the leadership of Melanie Delman. As a high-end boutique style agency, Lila Delman specializes in luxury properties. And recently, their clientele has come with favorable exchange rates in mind. Among the properties being pitched to overseas clientele is the former Astor summer home Oakwood.
The estate, located at 50 Narragansett Avenue, sits behind 10-ft high walls on nearly five acres of park-like grounds. The house has access to the outdoors from nearly every room, allowing residents and vistors ample opportunity to take advantage of amenities including a rose garden, a six-hole putting green, lawn tennis court and a pool stocked with koi.
But as Melanie Delman, owner of Lila Delman Real Estate put it, compared to the overseas market "it's a value." In January, an Irish Times article compared Oakwood with a French Embassy in that country currently listed for $87 million dollars.
Once home to the Astor family, Oakwood is currently being sold by Philadelphia based real estate developer J. Brian O'Neill, who purchased the property along with the exclusive Carnegie Abbey Club in Portsmouth from an intenrational real estate developer Peter DeSavary in 2004.
O'Neill is what Delman describes as a collector. A walk through the residence reveals just that. Oakwood's walls are lined with significant pieces of art and memorabelia ranging from a colonial era painting of George Washington to the PT Boat tie clip worn by John F. Kennedy the day before he was assassinated.
In the living room, once home to a ballroom that played host to members of the Astor family, a replica of the Titantic sits prominently on display. The sense of history cannot be ignored; John Jacob Astor IV went down with the ill-fated ship in 1912. Meanwhile, tucked away in a small second floor gym, JFK's varsity letter sweater from Harvard hangs, fittingly, on a wall next to a treadmill.
Leading the foreign influx are wealthy Irish business professionals, who have benfited from a roaring economy that grew at a rate of 5.1% in 2007, according to Ms. Delman. With the help of Broker Associate Catherine Gazder, Delman is looking to the Irish Tiger for clients. Ms. Gazder, a trained lawyer, comes with a valued commodity: Irish citzenship. Part of Newport's allure, according to Gazder, a Wexford, Ireland native, can be seen in the coast. The Irish "feel at home here," she said in a soft brogue. "Physically, Newport resembles Ireland." From golfing to sailing and the rugged coastline, Gazder alluded to the "draw of the ocean" that has lured Irish immigrants to Aquidneck Island for generations. Newport's Fifth Ward was developed to house Irish immigrants who worked as servants in the "big houses" up the hill on Bellevue. Even more interested buyers could come from across the pond should current investment plans come through...
...That could be good news for Newport's high-end housing market, which has remained strong in comparison with the rest of the state. In 2007 Lila Delman saw volume increase by 40%, the number of units sold increase by 15%, and the average price per unit rise from 11% over 2006.
Among the notable high-end properties sold last year by Lila Delman was the Gray Craig estate in Middletown, which was purchased by Hollywood star Nicolas Cage. It sold for $15.7 million. Tucked away on 26 acres abutting the Norman Bird Sanctuary, and complete with heliopad, the property is a one-of-a-kind gilded getaway.
That sale was trumped by Miramar,a 30,000 square foot "summer cottage" located a stone's throw from the Vanderbilt manision Marble House for a record $17.15 million.
According to Delman, amenities found at 41 North, Carnegie Abbey and the island's various yacht clubs, provide an even greater incentive for high-end buyers to invest in area real estate. Ms. Delman, who accounted for more than $57 million in sales last year alone, said that she doesn't see a downturn in the high-end market. Even still, improvements to the island's infrastructure such as an expanded airport could draw in more high-end buyers not from overseas but Boston and New York as well...
...Beyond the Emerald Isle, Delman said she plans to begin reaching out to markets including Dubai, London and Russia. Lila Delman's affiliation with Christie's Great Estates has helped expand the agency's reach...Although it is still too early to tell whether any of Newport's exclusive properties will end up in the hands of overseas buyers, with prices flirting with $20 million in some cases, and foreign currencies booming...one buyers $20 million is anothers (Euro) 14 million.
Newport This Week, February 22, 2008
By Tom Shevlin, Newport This Week Staff Writer
|
