Report: Conn. home once owned by Paul Simon sold

Last month, singersongwriters Paul Simon and Edie Brickell reportedly sold their New Canaan estate for $10.8 million, approximately a $5.7 million loss from when the couple bought the home in 2002.

On Thursday, luxury real estate news website The Dirt reported that a trust connected to “Pretty Woman” actor Richard Gere was the purchaser of the estate formerly belonging to Simon and Brickell.

An analysis of New Canaan property records shows that the sale of the home was made by Kensho Trust on July 1 for the $10.8 million sale. Kensho Trust has been linked to Gere in Westchester County property records for his Pound Ridge home, which he sold for $24.15 million earlier this year. According to Zillow, the sale of the Pound Ridge home was finalized two days before the sale of Simon’s New Canaan home.

The New Canaan home was listed by Taylor Tait and Libby Mattson of Houlihan Lawrence, and on the William Pitt Sotheby’s Realty website, shows as being sold by one of their agents, Bruce Baker, who represented Gere, according to The Dirt. Baker was not immediately available for comment.

Simon and Brickell’s home first hit the market in 2019 for $13.9 million and then was removed from the market the following year. The home was listed again in November 2020 for $11.9 million, and was later increased to $12 million in March 2021. The home finally sold 16 months later at a loss, according to Zillow.

According to the home’s website, the main residence was built in 1938 by architect Harold R. Sleeper and has five bedrooms with “period details” throughout, including fireplaces and hand-crafted millwork. There’s also a gardener’s cottage with three bedrooms and two bathrooms that provides an additional 1,483 square feet of living space, as well as a private driveway and garage.

The estate include 31 acres of land that contains a pool and several gardens. In total, the home offers 8,811 square feet of living space and is located 45 miles from New York City, according to the listing.

As for Gere’s recentlysold Pound Ridge estate, he purchased the eightbedroom, nine-and-a-half bathroom estate in January 1986 for $1.5 million, according to Realtor.com records. The Lyndel Road home has 11,658 square feet of living space, which Mansion Global notes includes stables, a private lake, a pool and a soccer field. The home sits on almost 50 acres of land that contains five structures, according to the listing, and is 4,300 acres of protected land.