Silver Screen: Inside the Drama Surrounding the Country's Largest House

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, January 24, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

If you've ever wanted to roam around the largest house in the country, you may soon get the chance: The Queen of Versailles debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year and has just been picked up by Magnolia Pictures. Directed by Lauren Greenfield, the film chronicles the drama surrounding the construction and ultimate failure of a massive estate in Windermere, Fla., which was cooked up by billionaire developer David Siegel and his wife, Jackie, as their ultimate dream home. By the time the couple accounted for an endless list of features and amenities—including 10 kitchens, mind you—plans had grown to 90,000 square feet. In 2008, the recession hit and the project was stalled; now, after having poured $50M into it, they're asking $100M (finished) or $75M (unfinished). Calling the film "the ultimate 'Real Housewives' tale," Hollywood.com has this assessment: "You won't feel bad that Jackie and David never got a chance to live in their real life palace, but when their marriage hits a breaking point, their children drift away and the future as they know it looks grim, you'll relate." (Unsurprisingly, Siegel is now suing both Sundance and the filmmakers.) Watch a very short clip from the piece below.

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City Scapes: Between Lake and Mountains, the Country's Smallest Largest City

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, April 26, 2011, by Rob Bear

Welcome to CityScapes, a column in which we explore some of the nation's oft-overlooked cities and towns: their local history and real estate offerings. Have a suggestion? Do let us know.

Burlington might be the largest city in the state of Vermont, but that's not saying much when it comes to population. Some 42,000 people live in Burlington, and the city is the economic and cultural hub of the state and has been for the past 200 years. Founded in 1775 as three log huts beside Lake Champlain, Burlington evolved into a center for trade, and a gateway to the markets of the East Coast for trappers and loggers plying their trades in the northern wilderness. The expansion of the railroad only improved Burlington's standing as the premier city between Montreal and Boston, and as the city's wealth grew so too did the high-brow tastes of its residents. Famed architect H.H. Richardson completed an imposing library for the University of Vermont in 1885. In 1923, the venerable New York firm of McKim, Mead, and White were commissioned to design the City Hall (above), and by '41 had built three more major structures in town.

? The ease of railway access, beauty of Lake Champlain, and temperate climate transformed Burlington into a ritzy summer getaway from the stifling heat of Boston and New York. With the influx of fashionable folks came the building of extravagant summer homes in the style of Newport, but with a slightly more rustic, mountain-influenced feel. The main house on the 435-acre estate known as Grosse Pointe (above), just south of Burlington on Lake Champlain, was built at the turn of the century from local granite and served as the summer home for a wealthy family from Grosse Point, Mich. Comprising 11 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, and five fireplaces over three floors, it measures 10,000-square feet and was last sold in the summer of 2006 for $8.4M. Now let's take a look at some local listings with slightly more affordable price tags.

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET NOW:

? Listed for $2M, this lakeside retreat is located in Shelbourne, about a half hour from downtown Burlington, but offers over an acre of waterfront land coupled with an attractive Adirondack-style house. Facing west, the house enjoys sparkling sunsets over the Lake, along with four bedrooms, four baths, radiant heating, a dock, and two moorings.

? Back in Burlington proper, there are several newer condominiums available for sale near downtown, but this one wins out with three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a unique-for-the-building duplex layout. Plus, unlike most American cities, living on the sixth floor is damn near the highest you can get in Burlington, where the tallest building is an eleven-story public housing project and most of the housing stock is single-family homes. This spacious, lake-view condo rings in at $799K.

? For under $500K, there's plenty of well-kept history to be had in Burlington. Take this 1926 Colonial in the city's Hill Section neighborhood. The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath house might not be massive at 1,900 square feet, but it's packed with historical charm, including original hardwood floors, beautiful woodworking, and broad porches, all for $419K.

· Vermont Valhalla [Forbes]
· 357 Ordway Shore Road [Coldwell Banker]
· 40 College Street [Coldwell Banker]
· 240 Loomis Street [Zillow]

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The Country's Most Expensive 'Hoods: Seven prime blocks of NYC's Upper...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, March 4, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

? Back to top

? Previous: "Victory For Interior Design" in Florida

? Next: Photographer Resurrects and Redecorates Mom's '60s Dollhouse

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On the Market: The Country's Best High Schools Offer Prime Real Estate to Match

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, January 31, 2011, by Rob

In this country, one of the perennial desires of family-oriented homebuyers is a prime school district. The best of the best offer talented students the chance to thrive and penny-pinching parents the opportunity to save some cash on private school tuition. That said, real estate in the most favored districts often fetches a premium. So when we set out to find a house within the purview of each of the top five high schools in the country, it wasn't surprising when the results included some primo listings. When you're saving up to $35K a year per kid on tuition, that should leave plenty of cash left over for the house, right? Well, not when you're shelling out $9.5M for a riverfront brick colonial. That's how much this 12-acre property in Virginia's Fairfax County is asking (above). Then again, the buyer will be getting a lot more than just potential enrollment for the little brainiacs in the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the country's No. 1 public high school according to U.S. News and World Report. The 7,200-square-foot main house features six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a swimming pool with a pool house, pre-war craftsmanship, and direct access to the Potomac River. Yes, of course there are cheaper options, but proud parents deserve some swanky digs, too.

? Five hundred miles from the rolling hills of Virginia, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. is home to the International Academy, No. 2 in the U.S. News ranking. Traditionally called home by the wealthiest Detroit-area residents, Bloomfield Hills features demanding schools and some familiar architecture, including this $2.95M "exact replica of Westover," a sprawling Virginia plantation." Let's hope that tradition of plagiarism doesn't carry over to the classroom.

? Next, we head out to the relatively anonymous SoCal community of Cerritos, home to No. 3 Whitney High School. A less rarified town than the frontrunners, it won't take more than a million dollars to score some of Cerritos's prime real estate, like this four-bed, four-bath spread with a classy address on Bogart Circle. Though we're certain ol' Humphrey had little to do with it, this house is still asking almost $900K. Glamorous it's not, but a good choice for the family nonetheless.

? Not far away, in Cypress, Calif., this four-bedroom is one of the priciest gateways to nearby fourth-place Oxford Academy. Though the curb appeal is a bit wanting, the interior is well suited to a growing family. For those raising a large brood—say, six kids—the $720K to be saved on private school tuition brings the price of this $925K home to just $205K. Now, just start convincing the kids to bunk up.

? Finally, near No. 5, TAG Magnet in Dallas, comes the greatest deal of the lot. For $135K, once can score this brand-new 1,400-square-foot home with three bedrooms. Not only that, but it's set to be built to LEED-certified standards. The only potential hiccup is in, well, the building stage. Right now, it's just a Sims-style rendering. Hard to deny the deal, though!
· America's Best High Schools: Gold Medal List [US News]
· 9500 Ferry Landing Court, Alexandria [Washington Fine Properties]
· 1099 Orchard Ridge Road [Real Estate One]
· 18900 Bogart Circle [Trulia]
· 9859 Carrara Drive [Zillow]
· 1115 Claude Street [Zillow]

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