It took just four days for former Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca and his wife to find a buyer for the single-family house they owned in the city’s upscale Back Bay neighborhood.
Ron Sargent, currently interim chief executive officer of grocery chain Kroger and formerly in the CEO job at office supplies retailer Staples, closed on the five-story home at 362 Marlborough St. on Wednesday, according to listing agent George Sarkis of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Sarkis co-listed the property with colleague Megan Francese.
The Pagliucas gave the 1890 building a complete overhaul, resulting in an interior with a decidedly modern look. They also did a lot of work on the outside, installing a garage, new windows and doors, and refurbishing the red brick walls.
Sarkis told Homes.com that all this work helps explain the difference between the $11.5 selling price and the $5.1 million the Pagliucas paid for it in 2015. They had listed the property earlier this month for just under $11 million. The agent stated that the property included two condos when the couple purchased it, and the building required some maintenance.
“They invested a significant amount of money into a single-family home with all the bells and whistles,” Sarkis said. “They redid the whole thing, soup to nuts.”
Pagliuca co-owned the Celtics from 2002 until earlier this year, long enough to see his team win two National Basketball Association championships, in 2008 and 2024. He is a senior advisor for Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital.
Sargent worked for Staples, which is headquartered near Boston, from 1989 until he retired in 2017, according to Kroger’s website. He also worked previously for the grocery chain during the 1980s.
The 5,680-square-foot house features four bedrooms, including the primary bedroom on the floor above ground level, two bedrooms on the next level up, and one in the basement, which has windows.
The Pagliucas never actually lived in the house, Sarkis said, and he doesn’t know whether Sargent will.
Something that adds to the house’s appeal is that it sits on the corner of a Back Bay cross street (Hereford Street), allowing for windows on three sides. It also has an impressive variety of outdoor spaces for the densely developed neighborhood, with a rooftop deck, a terrace facing the back alley and a balcony, plus a flower garden in front.
The driveway into the garage and the front walkway have pipes underneath them to provide heat, which is helpful during Boston’s occasional ice storms and blizzards.
“It has everything any buyer would want, plain and simple,” Sarkis said.