Once owned by Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas, this beachfront estate in Connecticut is back on the market with a stunning $27.5 million asking price.
Designed by local Westport architect Roger Ferris + Partners, the dream home of the entertainment business veterans was constructed on the shores of Long Island Sound back in 2007. After being married in 1980, the TV stars gave their expansive Beachside Avenue mansion to its current owner, Andrew Bentley, in 2013. The shingle-style colonial cost a cool $20 million at the time, according to Mansion Global, which reported on the local real estate tycoon. Additionally, Bentley took possession of multiple parcels in the vicinity, two of which were originally owned by the notorious Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
The Gold Coast home, currently Westport’s most expensive listing, was briefly on the market in 2020 for $28 million. Now that the spread is back up for sale—albeit with a slight discount—it stands to set a record for the area if it fetches anywhere near its whopping $27.5 million asking price.
Measuring 11,450 square feet in size, the rambling residence occupies a generous 6.6-acre plot with 400 feet of private waterfrontage, along with a cobblestone courtyard and manicured gardens. Altogether, the home features five bedrooms and five full bathrooms, plus a powder room, and throughout are striking coastal views in every direction thanks to walls of windows and French doors that open to broad terraces bordered by plush lawns.
Other notable highlights include a south-facing patio that can be reached via the main living room, sunroom, and kitchen. Plus, the primary suite has been decked out with rustic barn wood ceilings, a recently redesigned sitting area, and a sleek spa-like bath and dressing room. The property also features a guest wing with its own separate entrance, a full-size tennis pavilion, a home gym, and four garages.
“There are no other properties with the expanse of land, amount of waterfront and level of luxury home available for purchase,” Compass agent Leslie Clarke, who’s representing the listing, told Mansion Global. “Beachside Avenue is a coveted address and it’s rare for properties to come on the market.”
Funnily enough, the standing record in Westport for the town’s most expensive home was set in 2006 when Donahue and Thomas offloaded another waterfront home on Beachside Avenue that they owned to financier Herbert M. Allison, Jr. for $25 million. Since it sold again, the current owners of the property, Peggy and Gary Reiner, have built a huge new house closer to the water’s edge and, as of last year, planned to demolish the original Tudor-style home.