Private Island

Photo by Carlos Marques, Marcott Studios

July 13, 2020

Six-acre private island in Connecticut with a charming cottage asks $2.5M

A nearly six-acre private island off the coast of Norwalk, Connecticut has hit the market for $2.5 million. The property, called Copps Island, features an adorable three-bedroom, two-bath cottage with a huge screened-in porch. The home, which measures about 2,620 square feet, sits on the island's highest point, providing serene views of the Long Island Sound from every room.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

August 21, 2019

This waterfront Connecticut home comes with a private island for $6.25M

By Michelle Cohen

Just in case panoramic water views from one of the East Coast's most sought-after spots isn't enough, this meticulously renovated traditional home at 16 Marlow Court at the mouth of Cos Cob harbor on Long Island Sound in Fairfield County, CT, comes with its own .15 acre private island. Consider it an extension of your back porch, just another part of your $6.25 million private estate on 200 feet of direct water frontage with views of the harbor and the Riverside Yacht Club.
Get an eyeful of those views

You can buy this house on a private island upstate for $850K, but you can only get there by boat

Images courtesy of Houlihan Lawrence

August 20, 2019

You can buy this house on a private island upstate for $850K, but you can only get there by boat

By Michelle Cohen

Though we've all probably dreamed at some point of owning a private island–and they're more common than you may think–the serene and very private Willow Island on Putnam Lake in Patterson, N.Y., on the market for $850,000, is less out of reach than some others. On the one hand, it's accessible only by boat. On the other, it's less than 60 miles north of New York City in Putnam County. There's a private driveway and garage on the mainland and multiple docks on the property. The lake is "non-motorized," but the island comes with a solar-powered boat.
See the whole island and go inside

August 16, 2019

This $4M upstate Zen retreat is on a private island in the Hudson River

By Michelle Cohen

Located in the sleepy hamlet of New Hamburg in Dutchess County, separated from the banks of the Hudson River by a mere footbridge, this unique property asking $3.995 million is called Rabbit Island. And if you're into privacy and water views with an easy commute to anywhere, you'll want to hop on it. This pretty package includes a 4,427-square-foot house surrounded by decks and tranquil gardens, and it's a four-minute walk from the New Hamburg train station.
Zen-like tranquility, this way

Distinctive Homes

June 28, 2018

Private 63-acre Connecticut island is on the market for the second time in a century asking $120M

By Michelle Cohen

Not only is Great Island in Darien, CT, the largest private island to be offered for sale on the East Coast, but before it was listed in 2016 for $175 million, this iconic property hadn't been offered for sale or changed hands for more than a century. Purchased in the early 1900s by baking powder tycoon William Ziegler, the estate that lies just 50 miles north of New York City has remained in the family ever since. It's asking $120 million this time around.
Have a look at this unusual island property

May 25, 2018

For $5M, own the private Potato Island with a 90-minute commute to NYC

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Own your very own private island that feels like it’s a million miles away, or at least off the coast of Maine, but is actually off the shore of Connecticut for only $4.9 million (h/t Mansion Global). With the not-at-all charming name of Potato Island, named for a group of potato-looking boulders near the shore (you say potato, we say po-tentially change that name!), this private island is part of the Thimble Islands, an archipelago of small islands, 23 of which are inhabitable, in the Long Island Sound in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut.
Get a look at island life

April 12, 2018

For just $3M, you can own this entire upstate island

By Michelle Cohen

On a few rare occasions 6sqft has featured amazing private islands, some storied, some small–and generally for sale. Most of us dream of living on their own private island at least occasionally, and these amazing listings give us a room-by-room tour and waterfront view. Somewhere between the tiny and the impossibly grand, Whiskey Island looks an awful lot like the average private island fantasy. You can buy the 3.10 acre dream; or, if you haven't got $2.95 million, you can rent the dream on a weekly basis for family getaways or events.
More dreamy photos this way

December 6, 2017

Private island mansion with celebrity history and NYC views returns for $8.7M

By Michelle Cohen

Back in 2015, 6sqft covered this unusual property. The mansion at Tavern Island is, in fact, on a 2.7-acre private island off the coast of Connecticut. Even cooler is the island's history: The property's main house was built in the 1930s and was home to screenwriter Lillian Hellman when she was writing “The Little Foxes,” Mansion Global reports, and theater impresario Billy Rose owned the island in the 1960s and hosted lavish parties for the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Maureen O’Sullivan, and Barbara Streisand. In addition to these epic bragging rights, the new owner of the island will gain a six-bedroom English Colonial mansion dating to 1900, private beach, swimming pool, and a docking area and boat for access the mainland. According to property records, the current owners bought the island for $950,000 in 1981.
Tour this astounding island property

October 18, 2017

For $125M, you can own this 46-acre North Shore island compound

By Emily Nonko

For the third time in a 100-year history, this island compound off the North Shore of Long Island is looking for a buyer. Anybody willing to spend $125 million can own what's known as Dosoris Island--which includes 46 acres of land, 10 acres of underwater rights and a 28-acre pond. On top of that, the island is home to a compound built by Junius Morgan, a J.P. Morgan scion, with six homes, landscaping by Frederick Law Olmsted, and all sorts of other perks. A pool, private dock, and horse stables--it's all included in this magnificent private island package listed by Sotheby's.
Get a closer look

July 31, 2017

Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house and heart-shaped private island ask $15M upstate

By Emily Nonko

This private island upstate in Putnam County has an incredible backstory and stunning home (it's also located just 15 minutes by plane from Manhattan, via the houses's rooftop helipad), and it's up for grabs at an ask of $14.92 million. Mansion Global shared the tale of how a Frank Lloyd Wright home, designed by the architect to rival his iconic Fallingwater, ended up on the grounds of this 11-acre, heart-shaped property known as Petra Island. Not only does it employ Wright's signature cantilevering and series of outdoor terraces, but inside, there are giant stone boulders jutting into spaces from the living room to the shower stalls.
You must see the end result

63-acre Connecticut island could be the country’s most expensive residential property at $175M

By Emily Nonko

Could this insane Connecticut property break the record for the most expensive residential property ever sold in the country? Now on the market for $175 million, Great Island spans 63 acres and holds a mansion, beach cottages, a polo field, caretaker's house with a greenhouse, yacht basin with docks, and a cow barn to boot. Such an impressive estate is owned by the family of the 19th-century industrialist William Ziegler. He acquired it in 1902 to use as a summer destination--one that rivals any other "summer house" we've seen. And according to The Real Deal, if this sells for its full asking price it would beat the record for priciest house ever sold in the U.S., which belongs to the 2014 sale of a $147 million home in the Hamptons.
Now, time to tour the grounds

July 1, 2016

Own a Collection of Eight Private Islands off the Connecticut Coast for $78 Million

By Michelle Cohen

Hey, big spender...before you close on that trophy penthouse condo or townhouse duo, take a look at this extraordinary listing. When you've got billions–or even lots of millions–your real estate options are many. From a penthouse in the sky in a Billionaire's Row skyscraper to a townhouse or two on the Upper East Side or a Hamptons manse with acres of beachfront property, modern-day palaces await. For that eight-figure outlay, this listing is unusual even among the real estate deals of the superrich. The Post tells us of a private archipelago off the Connecticut coastline, owned by Christine and Edmund Stoecklein, on the market for $78 million. Known as the Thimble Islands, this surprising collection of eight islands boasts beautiful restored 19th century mansions, pools, guest houses, docking for yachts both small and large, a commercial-level greenhouse facility, tennis courts and a golf putting green and tees designed by Jack Nicklaus. The property is at most a ten-minute boat ride from the Connecticut shoreline or a twenty minute helicopter jaunt from Manhattan.
What you'll find on these secret island enclaves

September 8, 2015

Hamptons Island Could Go for $1B, Despite Being Contaminated With Foot-And-Mouth Disease

By Diane Pham

The Hamptons are increasingly a hotbed for crazy real estate offerings, from Andy Warhol's recently listed former compound now selling for $85 million to the teeny tiny trailer in Amagansett asking $1.2 million earlier this year. But now NPR reports that there's an 840-acre island just off the tip of Long Island complete with miles and miles of untouched shoreline, acres of undeveloped woods, a lighthouse and a ferry terminal that could go for as much as $1 billion when it hits the auction block. Oh, yes, and it's also contaminated with foot-and-mouth disease.
Find out more here

Distinctive Homes

May 27, 2015

POLL: Is Buying a Private Island a Better Investment Than a NYC Condo?

By Dana Schulz

Yesterday we learned that you can buy an entire island for $11 million, far less than the hundred-million-dollar condos popping up in Manhattan. So, you can spend one-tenth the price of the One57 penthouse, and instead of 10,923 square feet of glass-enclosed space, you’ll get 3.5 acres of land, a private beach, huge swimming pool, a 6,100-square-foot main […]

Real Estate Trends

May 26, 2015

Own a Mansion with Celebrity History on a Private Island Overlooking NYC for $11M

By Dana Schulz

Considering the fact that New York City townhouses go for tens of millions of dollars and luxury condos are climbing into the hundred million range, $11 million for an entire private island and mansion seems like quite the bargain. Tavern Island is a 3.5-acre piece of land located in the Long Island Sound near Rowayton, Connecticut, overlooking NYC. According to the Daily Mail, in the 1950s and '60s, theater impresario and lyricist Billy Rose owned the island and hosted lavish parties for the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Barbara Streisand. In addition to these epic bragging rights, the new owner of the island will gain a six-bedroom English Colonial mansion dating to 1900, private beach, swimming pool, and a docking area and boat for access the mainland.
Tour this unique island

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