Ian Nelson
A stunning Victorian Gothic mansion on a 13-acre estate in the exclusive celebrity enclave of Snedens Landing, New York — located within the hamlet of Palisades — has closed for $26.12 million, marking a record for Rockland County, brokers said.
The news was first reported by Mansion Global.
The home, known as Niederhurst, first hit the market in May for $28.5 million. It sits on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, known in part for its dramatic landscape, including 200-million-year-old basalt cliffs.
The seller, AD100 interior designer Sara Story — author of “The Art of Home” — renovated the 8,000-square-foot residence with Chicago-based architect Dirk Denison and designed the interiors. The work included preserving the home’s brick exterior, plus adding a sauna, a cellar, a lounge and a limestone-paved pool.
Built in 1874, the home features eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two powder rooms and six fireplaces. Original details include plaster medallions, brickwork and moldings. New design touches include Venetian plaster walls, oak millwork and wide-plank light oak floors, along with lots of marble.
Story purchased the home in 2011 and then launched a five-year renovation. The ground level comes with marble floors, high ceilings, a library, a chef’s kitchen, a dining room with a fireplace and a great room with a brick fireplace. The second floor features the main bedroom suite with two walk-in closets, a marble spa-like bath, a den with a balcony and another bedroom.
The third story boasts additional bedrooms, while the basement also includes bedrooms, a music room, a sauna and more.
The home was constructed by Winthrop Gilman Jr., a banker and architect who built the Palisades Presbyterian Church in 1863, which is still in use today.
The landscaping includes copper beech trees imported from England and planted by Gilman in the 19th century. The estate also features Fern Lodge, built in 1866, a converted stables and barn that comes with an additional eight bedrooms and four baths. There’s also a former small observatory where Gilman reportedly watched for meteors, along with a concrete pergola and a stone shed. The listing features three separate, contiguous lots.
It’s all in a low-key area that, for years, has lured in A-listers. Celebrities who have called Snedens Landing home have included Bill Murray, Diane Sawyer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Al Pacino, Scarlett Johansson and Uma Thurman — as well as Laurence Olivier, John Steinbeck and Katharine Hepburn.
The listing broker was Richard Ellis of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.