Friday, December 14, 2007

Historic Homes in Ocean State Attract High-End Buyers

Mike Smith loves the ocean view from his office on the third floor of his familiy's vacation home in Newport, R.I. Drawn by the picturesque vistas and the area's history and vibrant community, Mr. Smith, who asked that his real name not be used to protect his family's privacy, bought the $5.5 million prairie-style home with his sister last February.

"It has a real family feel," he says about Newport. "We chose the location for its beauty and because there is something going on all the time,even in mid-winter."

With their stunning ocean views, connection to American history and architecturally significant homes and estates, areas like Newport and Watch Hill, R.I. are attracting increasing interest from high-net-worth buyers from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Boston. Known as "The Ocean State," for its naval history and proximity to water, the locale is easily accessible from those metropolitan areas.

"High-profile people are starting to explore the Newport area as a change from The Hamptons, especially with the spectacularly interesting properties," says Melanie Delman, president of Lila Delman Real Estate in Narragansett, R.I. "Every house seems to have some kind of story." According to Ms. Delman, some homes that have been in families for generations are coming on the market and new families are arriving to start their own traditions. She recently listed "Seaweed," an $11.5 million oceanfront estate that had been owned by the same family since the late 1800s.

Newport boasts mild temperatures and encompasses three communities: Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. It once was home to families who built their fortunes in the 19th and early 20th century, like the Astors and the Vanderbilts. History abounds and Newport with its ties to the Revolutionary War, claims to have more standing buildings built before 1830 than any other American community. The area is also home to the U.S. Naval War College...

...Architects Stanford White, George Champlin Mason, Horace Trumbauer and Richard Morris Hunt are among the well-known designers represented in the area and the Historic Point neighborhood is home to houses that date back to colonial times. Ms. Delman recently listed for sale a $14.5 million mansion, a mid-19th century collabration between Richard Morris Hunt, considered by some the father of American architecture, and Frederick Olmstead, the founder of American landscape architecture. The castle-like home is the "quintessential Ocean Avenue house," says Ms. Delman...

...Considered the sailing capital of the world and home to the America's Cup for more than 100 years, Nepwort offers mooring, docking, yacht clubs and plenty of boating opportunities. Many oceanfront estates, such as Hammersmith Farm, former home of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis's mother and stepfather, Janet and Hugh Auchincloss, can be seen only from the water, and are favorites of tourist boat owners. Waterfront homes and estates command the highest prices in Newport.

Originally settled by Niantic Indians in the 1600s Watch Hill is located on a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean and across Little Narragansett Bay from Connecticut. During the French and Revolutionary Wars the area served as a strategic lookout point and has been called Watch Hill ever since. As if to underscore the point, a statue of Niantic Chief Ninigret looks out at the harbor.

Like Newport, Watch Hill is home to history, architecture, and water. Of the 15 single- family homes now on the market, the most expensive is an $18.9 million estate...

...Watch Hill caters to sailors with boat yards on the Pawcatuck River, yacht clubs and deep-water mooring...

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source: liladelman.com

Doris Duke award to be presented September 12

The first annual Doris Duke Historic Preservation Award for Distinguished Stewardship will honor Noreen Drexel for her "strong committment to philanthropy and preservation" in Newport during the past 50 years, the Newport Restoration Foundation announced yesterday.

The foundation, which launched the awards this year with a grant from BankNewport, will honor Drexel and several other award recipients at a ceremony next month.

The other recipients are...Lila Delman Real Estate, for its successful integration of a contemporary business into a restored historic building at 3 Memorial Boulevard. Each recipient will receive a handcrafted glass obelisk, designed and made by artist Steven Easton.

Recipients will be publicly acknowledged on September 12 at City Hall. A formal celebration and awards celebration will be held at Rough Point on September 14, in support of the Doris Duke Preservatin Grant program, which finances preservation projects of local civic and non-profit organizations.

The recipients were chosen by a committee of representatives from the city, the Newport Restoration Foundation, and individuals involved in historic preservation at the local, state and national levels...

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source: liladelman.com

Sometimes, Being Overlooked Is an Advantage

When it comes to covering the waterfront in Narragansett, R.I., the patterns are well established.

Out-of-towners head south to the state beach. Families with small children opt for the bayside. Local sunworshipers and surfers gravitate to the centrally located Narragansett Town Beach, where they happily divvy up the crescent of sand and sea. Such cooperation is worth it, both for the surfers, in search of some of the best waves on the East Coast, and for the bathers, who relish the moderate water temperatures.

Boasting arguably the nicest beaches in New England, Narragansett is often overlooked in favor of its neighbors like Newport or Watch Hill, or established vacation spots like Block Island and Cape Cod. But Narragansett has advantages those places don't, including comparatively reasonable real estate prices, varied housing stock and easy access.

That's not to say Narragansett has escaped the notice of savvy second-home buyers, or that it doesn't have its fair share of ocean-gazing mansions and multimillion-dollar properties. But the same sort of house with the same ocean view in Newport might cost a buyer 10 to 20 percent more, says John Hodnett, a partner in Lila Delman Real Estate, which handles high-end properties in both Newport and Narragansett.

Like Newport, Narragansett once served as a preferred summer resort for many of New York and Boston society's prominent families, who either maintained "cottages" (oceanfront mansions) or stayed at one of the grand Victorian hotels that lined Ocean Road.

All of the hotels were destroyed by fires in the early 1900s, but several mansions still exist and, in some cases, are still in the hands of the oiriginal families. Others have been renovated or rebuilt by corporate executives who spend their summers in Narragansett, or by people like Michael Ice, a former Division 1 college basketball player turned Wall Street investment banker.

Mr. Ice bought a six-bedroom house facing the ocean for $2.5 million in 2002. Since then, he has added a regulation-size basketball court to his three-acre property and is putting in a pool. His wife, Kathi, and their five children spend their summers here, with Mr. Ice joining them on weekends from their primary home in Rye, N.Y.

He said he preferred Narragansett to the more typical choice of his colleagues, the Hamptons, or the more obvious Rhode Island destination, Newport. "I don't take a black tie when I go up there for the summer," he said. "Narragansett is more low key. There's still a little of that blue blood group there, but it's more of a beach town."

While oceanfront mansions are listed in the millions, you don't have to be related to an oil baron to buy in Narragansett. Divided into distinct villages, housing ranges from the small fishing cottages near Point Judith at the southern end of town, to 1970s-style beach houses in Eastward Look, to more traditional houses in central historic district, to California-style homes tucked into a hilly area of Bonnet Shores at the north end of town.

With seven miles of oceanfront, plus a bounty of inlets, salt ponds and coves, many homes here have access to water or, at least, water views.

Getting to Narragansett is a big selling point, especially compared to waiting (at Point Judith) for a ferry to Blcok Island, or being caught on the clogged road that leads to Cape Cod. "If you want to go home on a Sunday, you might get delayed 20 minutes getting out of here," Mr Hodnett said. "You're not held hostage like you are on the Cape."

For Maryellen Allen's family, the convenience and the pristine beaches were key factors in the decision to buy a beach house in Narragansett rather than Rye, N.H., their original choice. The Allens discovered Narragansett three years ago, when their son, Tim, became a student at the University of Rhode Island, just 10 minutes inland. The 1960s three-bedroom colonial they bought for $443,000 near Point Judith this spring is two blocks from the ocean and just over an hours drive from their home in Glastonbury, Conn.

"Sometimes, as a summer-home owner, you feel like you're being a little intrusive, but people don't act that way here," Mrs. Allen said. "People are very nice. They extend themselves."

The Scene

The white-sand beaches, of course, are a big draw, but there is little commercial activity compared with what's in most other beach towns. Mirroring the distinct neighborhoods, the beaches are defined, too: Narragansett Town beach draws surfers and year-round residents, while Scarborough State Beach attracts more out-of-towners. The west coast beaches in the Sand Hill Cove area have smaller waves that appeal to young families, while the beaches in Bonnet Shores area are open only to residents of that neighborhood.

Fishing is popular. Galilee, a village at the town's southern end, is Rhode Island's largest commercial fishing port. Visitors can take a charter and do their own fishing, or wait for fishing boats loaded with lobster and tuna to come in.

Back in town, the Towers, a granite structure that crosses over Ocean Road, is all that remainsof the once famous Narragansett Pier Casino, destroyed by fire in 1900. The Towers serve as a visitors center today and the site of year-round social and cultural activities.

Pros

Despite the clear evidence of wealth, Narragansett still feels like a real town, where local teenagers hang out at the beach and restaurants are run by University of Rhode Island graduates. A downtown redevelopment plan will soon bring a fancy supermarket and upscale condominiums to the town's central waterfront.

Cons

Galilee is all but overrun by traffic to and from the Block Island Ferry. This fishing village and the downtown Pier area are in danger of being overly commercialized by developers who see an opportunity to tap into the growing interest in the neighborhood.

The Real Estate Market

Real estate agents estimate that 40 to 50 percent of Narragansett's homeowners are seasonal. A large number of second-homers come from New England or the suburbs of New York City.

As more buyers have discovered Narragansett, home values have risen. From 2000 to 2005, the median price jumped from $163,800 to $360,700. And the median today has edged to more than $500,000, agents say.

There are about 217 houses currently on the market; 22 are listed at more than

$1 million. Houses range from modest Capes and ranches inland that list in the mid-$300,000s, to an 1880 stone mansion on 3.5 acres of sweeping oceanfront property listing at $6.3 million.

Historic houses are concentrated in the downtown Pier neighborhood: a converted five-bedroom carriage house built in 1990 and updated in 2006 lists at $1.095 million, while a 2740-square-foot1890 Victorian on Boon Street lists at $649,000.

Being near the water will cost you: a 636-square-foot cottage on the beach in Sand Hill Cove lists for $895,000, while a two-bedroom ranch with oceanviews in Bonnet Shores lists at $925,000.

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source: blogger.com

LuxuryRealEstate.com Announces Award Nominations for Upcoming Conference in Vancouver, B.C.

LuxuryRealEstate.com recently announced nominations for its eight annual awards and will present them to winners at the 12th Annual Membership Conference in Vancouver, B.C. from September 29 to October 2. More than 300 experts are expected to attend this event.

[USPRwire, Saturday, August 11, 2007] LuxuryRealEstate.com recently announced nominations for its eighth annual awards, including two new ones, which will be presented to members of its international network at the 12th Annual Membership Conference in Vancouver, B.C. from September 29 to October 2.

Select members of LuxuryRealEstate.com will receive the following awards based upon nominations: Best Brand Integration, Best Overall Marketing Package, Most Innovative Marketing Technique, Best Web Site and Lifetime Achievement, which is a new category this year. Three additional awards will be given based solely upon data: Most Outbound Referrals, Most LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine Participation and Most Event Attendance, which is new this year.

Several top companies have been nominated for these awards so far. These brokerage firms include...Lila Delman Real Estate...

"We take great pride in our world-class membership, and we look forward to honoring the best of the best among luxury brokers," said John Brian Losh, the CEO and publisher of LuxuryRealEstate.com, and broker, chairman and CEO of Ewing and Clark, Inc. in Seattle. "Our conferences are focused on industry trends and networking, and we also like to take time to praise individual firms' efforts."

...www.LuxuryRealEstate.com is the most-viewed luxury real estate Web site in the world. Luxury Real Estate is an international marketing network creating innovative connections between industry professionals, the finest properties they represent, and the world. Luxury Real Estate encompasses LuxuryRealEstate.com, Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate, the Board of Regents and Luxury Referral Services, among other resources. Luxury Real Estate's network of brokers and firms make up Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate, which provides referrals and listings of luxury homes for sale to more than 1,300 brokerage firms.

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source: liladelman.com

Four local preservation awards received

NEWPORT - The first Doris Duke Historic Preservation Award for Distinguished Stewardship will honor Noreen Drexel for her strong committment to philanthropy and preservation in Newport for more than half a century.

The Newport Restoration Foundation and the city of Newport created the award to celebrate local excellence in historic preservation.

Three other awards will be granted to projects that have contributed to preserving the historic fabric of Newport's community.

Nicholas Scheetz will receive an award for his restoration of 40 Division Street, which incorporated modern conveniences into an 18th-century single family home while respecting its historic significance.

The Redwood Library will be honored for its recent project that involved rehabilitation as well as new construction on this National Historic Landmark site.

Lila Delman Real Estate, 3 Memorial Boulevard, will be recognized for its successful integration of a contemporary business into a restored historic building.

Each recipient will receive a handcrafted glass obelisk, desinged and made by artist Steven Easton.

Recipients will be publicly asknowledged Wednesday, Spetember 12, at City Hall. A formal celebration and awards ceremony will be held Friday, September 14, from 6-8 p.m. at Rough Point on Bellevue Avenue. Tickets cost $125 per person. Reservations are required.

Proceeds will benefit the Doris Duke Preservation Grant program, which funds community preservation projects.

For more information on the Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards, or to reserve tickets to the event, call 849-7300 or visit www.newportrestoration.org

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source: liladelman.com