The first town over the border from New York State, Greenwich, Conn., has long been a haven for wealthy Wall Streeters, especially in the days when Connecticut didn’t have an income tax. Despite the fact that Connecticut has a lower state income tax than New York, many residents make their home in Connecticut rather than in New York because of its lower state income tax. About 35 miles by chauffeured car from Wall Street, this leafy enclave is one of those towns that simply feels wealthy wherever you go: from the chic shops downtown, where there’s an Hermés outpost, to the waterfront estates on the Long Island Sound, to the larger homesteads up north in the “backcountry.”
Classic Georgian architecture, usually in brick, is a popular architectural style in Greenwich’s back country. A rich and stolid Nutmegger likes his home to be solidly traditional, as well as large and decadent as possible. Leave the edgy glass boxes to the arrivingistes.
Joe and Sally Wallstreet’s back country criteria are met on this estate: 8+ acres of land, electronic gates to keep the riffraff out, and a massive brick house with stone quoins. All this comes at a price, however, with a double-height statement office/library, a magazine-worthy kitchen, and tennis court and swimming pool set among manicured grounds. Sotheby’s International Realty has listed the estate for $39 million with Leslie MacElwreath and Joseph Barbieri.
This nearly 19,000-square-foot mansion was built in 2001 by Biondi and his wife, who purchased the land for $7.7 million in 2000, when Biondi was Lazard’s co-chairman of investment banking. In 2007, Biondi died at the age of 50, and his surviving wife sold the property for million in 2013 to the current owners, Christian Meissner, CEO of Credit Suisse Investment Bank and Region Americas, and his wife.
In addition to a tall stone wall and rows of small pine trees, the property is quite private. As you drive to the formal motor court, pink flowering trees line the driveway, adding vintage charm to the house’s copper cupola. There are eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and four half-baths. For those who find that too cramped, there is also a finished basement with 3,733 square feet of recreation space – a wine cellar, a home theater, a family room, a gym, and a yoga room – as well as five attached garages.
There is an impressive curved staircase that swoops up to the second floor, embracing a glitzy three-story chandelier as it embraces tons of beautiful woodwork and walnut parquet flooring. There are a pair of custom bars flanking the fireplace in both the living room and dining room. There is also a brass upper gallery and lighted shelves in the two-story mahogany-paneled office/library.
With professional appliances and two butler’s pantries, the gleaming kitchen is designed by posh English maker Smallbone. With two luxurious bathrooms and two dressing rooms, the master suite follows a “two is better than one” philosophy. Tennis courts and mosaic tiled pools are located outside, both oriented north-south. An inlaid stone terrace, a pool house with full bath and kitchenette, and an outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, rotisserie, and grill are also included.
If you want to impress your deep-pocketed co-workers with your new Greenwich home, you’d better save up those bonuses and start bidding.
