Stephen Sondheim’s Roxbury house sells for $3.25M
The Roxbury house of celebrated composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim has sold for $3.25 million, according to Klemm Real Estate, which brokered the property. The property sold for its listed price. It was initially listed for sale in November.
“We were extremely privileged to be chosen to handle such a wonderful home that was cared for by such an extraordinary icon. We are thrilled that the market responded so well to this wonderful property,” said Graham Klemm, president and broker of Klemm Real Estate, in a statement.
Klemm previously told Hearst Connecticut that his company purposefully kept the address off websites in order to protect the safety of the house and prevent it from “becoming a tourist attraction.”
Esteemed in the Broadway community, Sondheim is credited with writing lyrics for iconic musicals such as “West Side Story,” “Company,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and “Merrily We Roll Along.” He was the winner of eight Grammy Awards, eight Tony Awards and an Academy Award. He was also the recipient of a Pulitizer Prize, Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom among a number of other awards and recognitions of his career.
Sondheim resided in the Roxbury estate from 1984 until his death in 2021, according to town property records — leaving it to his husband, Jeff Romley, and assistant, Steven Clar. Sondheim lived in the Connecticut house throughout most of the pandemic, according to an article in Curbed. In addition to his Roxbury house, Sondheim also had a townhouse on 49th Street in New York City, which Zillow reports as being sold last month for $7 million.
A 1792 estate situated on approximately nine acres of land, Sondheim purchased the Roxbury property when it was just a small farmhouse before expanding it to its current state. The house now has three bedrooms, threeand-half bathrooms, paneled library and an open living area with a vaulted wooden ceiling and stone fireplace. The house also has an adjoining one-bedroom poolhouse, pool and hot tub.
Real estate tracking firm Redfin listed median prices for the house’s 06783 ZIP code at $1.2 million in March. Redfin notes that on average, houses in the area often sell for about two percent under the list price and are off the market in about 77 days, while the hottest houses sell at asking price and are only on the market for about 37 days.
The house was listed by Klemm Real Estate; the listing agents were Graham Klemm and Carolyn Klemm.