An upstate New York home, known locally for its well-manicured gardens, is on the market for $6.4 million, and it comes with a 3-acre lake.
The property at 335 Croton Dam Road in Ossining is an ideal home for someone who enjoys nature and entertaining but still needs to be close to New York City, said listing agent Dalia Valdes of Sotheby's International Realty. The mansion, now known as the Bakwin Estate, was built in 1932 for Drs. Harry and Ruth Bakwin, pediatricians who worked in the Big Apple but traveled the world as art collectors, Valdes said.
The Bakwins spent time throughout central Europe and married in Paris. The couple eventually returned to New York and decided to build a home.
"They came back, and they wanted to create something similar to what they visited in Europe," Valdes said in an interview.
One example is the home's living room, or "The Great Room." It features exposed wood beams overhead and stucco walls to give the feeling of a Swiss chalet or "something you'd find in the mountains of Switzerland," Valdes said.
The Bakwin Estate sits in Ossining, a town divided into two villages: Briarcliff Manor and Ossining. The town is a sought-after location because it's close to the Hudson River, where residents enjoy swimming, fishing and boating. It is perhaps most famous for being the site of Sing Sing Correctional Facility, one of the nation's oldest prisons.
In Ossining village, where the Bakwin Estate is located, and Crotonville — a neighborhood within the village — Colonial revivals and Cape Cods are priced between $400,000 and $800,000. Historic mansions in Scarborough — a community within Briarcliff Manor — sell for up to $2 million.
The Bakwin Estate sits on 50 acres
All told, the Bakwin Estate has 11 bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms inside a 9,481-square-foot Tudor-style home. The house sits on a 50-acre lot that includes a three-car garage, a guest house, a boathouse, a pool, a tennis court, fruit and vegetable gardens, and a Japanese serenity garden.
Harry and Ruth Bakwin died in 1973 and 1985, respectively. The home remained in the family until it was sold to its current owner in 2021, Valdes said.
The current owner got married on the property
The current owner is begrudgingly selling the property, Valdes said. Like the Bakwins, the owner bought the home because he wanted to be close enough to New York City, she added.
Before listing it, the owner enjoyed driving his golf cart across the grounds to check on all the gardens and trees, Valdes said.
"Something on the grounds is blooming from March to October," she said.
To be sure, a home with that many acres comes with a landscaping bill that some prospective buyers might find a bit pricey, Valdes noted.
"They had a gardener there almost every day, mowing the lawn and doing other things," she said, "so, I'm sure it must be a pretty dime."
One of the owner's most cherished memories in the home is the day he got married, Valdes said. He used the property for the ceremony, and the family held the reception near the pool and lake.
Deep down, the owner wants to keep the property, but Valdes said, "his life and business are taking him elsewhere."