For the first time in over a hundred years, the private 63-acre island estate on Long Island Sound known as "Great Island" is up for sale. And if a buyer is found who can agree to its $175 million asking price, it will become the most expensive residential property in the United States.
The Great Island estate's first owner, baking powder industry titan William Ziegler, bought the property way back in 1900, originally for use as a summer home. It stayed in the family until Ziegler's granddaughter Helen Steinkraus passed away in 2012, and the sale is now taking place as all of the younger generations of the Ziegler family have "moved to other places." Those other places must be something else, since this property is pretty impressive, accessible only by man-made land bridges, and featuring a six-bedroom stone main house as well as additional residences on the property, plus a private beach with dock, a boathouse, and more than one waterfront cottage.
Helen Steinkraus got her last name from Olympic show jumper William Steinkraus and later became an equestrian enthusiast herself, so it makes sense that Great Island is also home to a generous equestrian complex, including a 20-stall stable, a Grand Prix arena for jumping and riding, an exercise track, and more.
If a buyer is found and the $175 million asking price is met, it will break the record set in 2014 by a $145 million property in the Hamptons in New York (the record-breaking aspect may or may not end up being a selling point). The sale is being handled by agent David Ogilvy of David Ogilvy & Associates Realtors, who also handled the $120 million sale of a property just nine miles away from this one back in 2014, and he seems optimistic about the prospects for this potentially record-breaking sale:
"The market for $100 million and up is a very small market. Since we have one that sold here, that gives us something very good to work from."
