Listing brokers for a three-story estate in Six Mile, South Carolina, are marketing the property to connoisseurs of art and lovers of multimillion-dollar views.
The home at 125 Scenic Way rests at the highest point in the Cliffs Springs development about 30 miles west of Greenville, South Carolina. The property offers panoramic vistas of Lake Keowee and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
"We call this Museum on the Mountain," said Beau Sylvester, who is listing the home with fellow sales associate Michael Schultz of Herlong Sotheby's International Realty.
The home is designed around a sculpture by Raul Diaz called Casa Blanca that depicts a man on a pedestal looking at a wood carving with a home in the center. The $24,000 sculpture and most of the furniture are included in the asking price of $8,900,682. The unusually specific number is a staple of the firm's owner, Joan Herlong, who insists that all its listings include the last three digits of the home's ZIP code.
Schultz and Sylvester have the Scenic Way property and another listing nearby at 133 Leaping Brook Way. They said the two are the highest-priced homes for sale on the lake.
Scenic Way, in the Shady Grove neighborhood, has been on the market for about a week. The agents say they are marketing it internationally through Sotheby's and have sent 30,000 emails to prospective buyers. In addition, they had the owners, Sarah and John Garvey, write an open letter, explaining their vision for the home and what it was like to live there.
Sellers tell the best stories
"We believe no one can talk about what they love about a house, personal experiences in the home, and what they like about the area and community better than the person living there," Sylvester said.
The Garveys hired architect Mitch Lehde to design the home in 2008, despite the ongoing U.S. housing downturn and financial crisis.
Sarah Garvey, an Art Institute of Chicago board member, said in an interview that she felt a connection to Casa Blanca. She bought the sculpture and kept it with the dealer until the property was finished in 2010.
The six-bedroom, 10-bathroom "family refuge" on nearly 6 acres includes 10,000 square feet of interior space and 3,000 square feet of outdoor living, according to the listing. The master bedroom has two walk-in closets with custom cabinetry. All of the bedrooms have ensuites, providing privacy and comfort for overnight guests. A glass-enclosed basement wine cellar holds as many as 600 bottles, and a third-floor office offers some of the best views of the mountains and lake.
The entrance has black walnut floors and 22-foot, floor-to-ceiling hurricane-resistant windows. The living room and dining room, with limestone floors, and the tiled wet bar are designed for entertaining, the agents said.
Other features include a steam room, exercise room, covered outdoor areas, a half-court basketball hoop and a fire pit. The screened-in porch features a floor-to-ceiling fireplace and vinyl windows to keep out the pollen, said Garvey, a retired Boeing executive.
A granddaughter in Chicago beckons
In addition, there are seven Cliffs developments with clubs in the area, and membership in one includes memberships in the other six.
Garvey and her husband, a retired forensic accountant, intended to make the home their legacy, and it often served as the centerpiece of family gatherings with their two adult sons and extended relatives. But now the couple has a grandchild, 9-week-old Leila Pearl Garvey, who lives in Chicago.
"I want to share with her art, animals, conservation," Garvey said. "You can't do that when you only see her three times a year."
Getting to the Garveys' home in South Carolina isn't a quick trip from Illinois, so the Garveys figured it was best to sell it and return to Chicago, where they already have a residence. They're also planning to buy a larger place in Michigan.
After designing the South Carolina home that they still love, the thought of giving it up "was breaking my heart," Garvey said. But as beautiful as the house is, she noted, family is more important, and she hopes to find a buyer who will enjoy the home as much as she and her husband did.
"While we may leave behind the beautiful space and lifestyle, the essence of our journey, the artistry, and the warmth of our home will forever remain etched in our hearts," the Garveys wrote in their open letter to buyers. "Brrr, indeed, we are heading back north, but with a treasure trove of memories that will accompany us wherever we go."
