Wow!  This estate has been in the William Ziegler family since 1905.  Ziegler was a baking soda magnate who originally built this estate as a summer getaway to the country.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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And are the new owners a family or two families that ponied up $100,000,000 for this Fairfield County, Connecticut gold coast address? Or, did the Town of Darien (pronounced Derry-Ann) where the home is located, go for it?  When I first saw this listing, I was rooting for the town because the thought behind owning it is turning it into a public-use green space for the residents of Darien.  I mean just look at it!

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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According to the New York Post, this 60-acre 'Great Island' as it's known, is one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels of land in the area, and that's why the town is grabbing it up.  How cool is that!  The town jumped at something that will add an incredible piece of green space.  Lucky residents now have a HUGE park according to the town, and then some.

There will never be another opportunity for the town to control this property’s destiny, or to add an asset to benefit all of us like this.  I believe 200 years from now, when people look at this property, they will look favorably on this transaction.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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According to The Real Deal, prohibition-era whiskey still graces its cellar.  I mean, how incredible is that?

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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Darien, Connecticut, is an hour-and-a-half form New York City and two-and-a-half hours from Boston.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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If this sale goes through, residents will enter The Great Island over a narrow bridge that crosses the Long Island Sound onto this pristine 60 acres with a mile of unfettered access to the Connecticut shoreline.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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This 13,170 square foot mansion has 10 bedrooms and bathrooms, but what the town plans to do with the home is still in the works.  I'll tell you one thing, this will make an incredible public clubhouse.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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It was first listed for sale in 2016, when the Ziegler family listed this Italian villa-style manor with a guest house, a seaside cottage, and a caretaker's cottage for $175 million.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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Other conveniences within this estate include a deep-water dock that can accommodate a yacht, as well as polo grounds.  Again, the town has a lot of options, clearly.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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And get this: the 18-stall granite stable with indoor and outdoor riding rings was designed by architect Rafael Guastavino, whose work you can see in New York’s Grand Central Station and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, also in New York City.

Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
Jennifer Leahy/Douglas Elliman Connecticut
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There are several paddocks and riding trails around the 60 acres as well.

I wonder what the Town of Darien will do with the whiskey?

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