Waterfront estate sells for $28M
The original house at 23 Smith Road was built in 1939 by Oliver D. Mead, a lumber dealer and banker who inherited the land that is Belle Haven today, selling off lots over time for development.
GREENWICH — A Belle Haven estate in Greenwich has sold for $27.75 million, making it the largest waterfront transaction in Connecticut this year.
The property at 23 Smith Road boasts nearly 700 feet of waterfront along Greenwich Harbor, backed by more than 5 acres of land, including a main residence built in 1939, a guest house and a barn.
Listing broker Houlihan Lawrence declined to disclose the identities of the buyer and seller, who originally sought $39.5 million for the property when putting it on the market in May 2019.
In 2015 filings with the town of Greenwich, Peter and Laurie Grauer identified themselves as owners of 23 Smith Road. Blockshopper.com reported their original purchase price at $2.9 million in 1991.
Peter Grauer is chairman of Bloomberg, having taken over the role in 2001 from founder and 2020
presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. The company did not respond immediately to a query on the Grauer’s residency status. In 2011, the couple spent $7 million for a Mediterraneanstyle villa in Palm Beach, Fla.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, Grauer signed a letter in March alongside some 250 other executives of New York companies, asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to avoid raising taxes, citing relocations by their employees to locales with lower taxes.
Greenwich is among the Connecticut towns that have benefited the most from a significant influx of new arrivals when compared to neighboring towns in Westchester County with comparable estates.
The original house at 23 Smith Road was built in 1939 by Oliver D. Mead, a lumber dealer and banker who inherited the land that is Belle Haven today, selling off lots over time for development. Landmarks and buildings throughout Greenwich bear the Mead name, which can be traced back to John Mead, who was among the town’s earliest landowners in the mid-17th century.
The Grauer name is attached to one small institution in town: the town’s oldest preschool run by the nonprofit Family Centers, which in 2016 was renamed the Grauer Preschool after the couple created a scholarship program supporting early childhood education.