Fixer-Upper With a Premium Pedigree: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Childhood Home for Sale

A historic home where Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, spent a lot of her childhood is on the market. Although the exterior emits plenty of historic vibes, the home is a real fixer-upper.

“The current interior is unfinished, and needs to be finished by the buyers,” says the listing agent, Paul Hallenbeck.

The agent has high hopes for an enterprising buyer willing to take on this well-pedigreed property.

“It’s going to be incredibly grand,” he says. “I want to go back to the house when it is finished.”

It may not be complete, but that doesn’t mean that this prime piece of property on the Hudson River will come cheap. The 10,000-square-foot Second Empire-style home in Germantown, NY, is listed for $5.25 million.

Known as Oak Terrace, Eleanor Roosevelt’s grandparents built the home in 1865.

“It was their summer house when they lived in New York City. Due to tragedies in her family, she eventually ended up living with [her grandparents] and spent summers there with them. Her bedroom is identified, so you can visit it,” Hallenbeck explains.

Roosevelt’s memoirs say she spent time reading books under the shade of the trees on the estate.

The location and setting is hard to top—for reading or whatever leisure pursuit you choose.

“It’s directly on the Hudson River, with views of the river and the Catskill Mountains beyond. It’s 25 acres and has total privacy there,” Hallenbeck says.

Those gorgeous views are visible from a wraparound veranda accessible from a number of spots in the house.

Inside, there are 18 rooms highlighted by a 700-square-foot great room with dramatic 16-foot ceilings. A grand staircase goes up 36 feet and is topped by a spectacular coved ceiling with skylights.

Each of the six bedrooms in the four-story house comes an attached bathroom, including what Hallenbeck says will be a marvelous master suite.

Van Lamprou, a co-founder of Dolce Vita footwear, is the home’s current owner. He bought the home in 2013, for $2.85 million.

In the years since, he has poured lots of money into unglamorous but necessary elements to bring the home into the 21st century.

“The current owner has done an enormous amount of work,” Hallenbeck says. “He has redone the roof, drilled a new well, put in a new septic, installed modern heat and AC in the house, redone the fireplaces, and completely reinsulated the house.”

In addition to that infrastructure work, the home’s entire electrical and plumbing systems are also new.

Now that the crucial systems are in place, the next step is to finish off the interior.

“The owner decided to move ahead with other projects, instead of finishing the interior—which I think is probably a very good idea when you have a house like this,” Hallenbeck explains.

It will allow any buyers to customize to their personal taste the decor, finishes, and layout.

Hallenbeck estimates that the project will cost at least a million dollars.

“We’ve had quite a few people come with their architects and designers, trying to figure out how to finish it in the right way for them,” he says.

The perfect buyer is likely to be a family looking for a private weekend retreat, he says.

“When you’re outside here, you see the river and the Catskill Mountains beyond, and if you’re lucky, you see a boat or two on the river,” he adds. “But what you hear is nature, the wind. You don’t hear motorcycles or traffic. There are very few places like that.”

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