Listing of the Day
Location: Watchung, New JerseyPrice: $2 million
In the early 1990s, a doctor and his artist wife bought 1.5 acres on the uppermost ridge of the Watchung Mountains—not so much for the 1960s house on the property, but for the views.
The site has views of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which links the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, and the Outerbridge Crossing, a cantilever bridge connecting Staten Island to Perth Amboy, N.J. The couple can even see the Manhattan skyline, 34 miles away, and a wide stretch of sky.
“George Washington rode along this ridge to monitor British troop movement in New Jersey,” said the wife, who asked not to be identified. In 2008, the couple demolished the house and built a new one, with a design inspired by the site and its bridge vistas.
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Architect Max Prangi, from White Plains, N.Y., built a footbridge that begins at ground level, stretches over the courtyard—a full story below—through the front door and into the home’s third-floor foyer. The bridge continues above the great room and ends at a wall of windows fronting the remarkable view.
The house was completed in 2013, but by that time, the couple had opted not to move in. As a result, the sun-drenched home is pristine, having never been occupied.
The Stats
With 7,500 square feet of living space, the slate-covered house has four bedrooms, four full bathrooms and two partial baths.
Amenities
Outside, there’s a mosaic-tiled swimming pool and a spa. The pool can be lit up in different colors, on a cycle that changes from blue to green to pink, according to listing agent John R. Salvato of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty.
Neighborhood Notes
The Borough of Watchung is suburban but woodsy. A six-mile trail winds through the 2,000-acre Watchung Reservation, with signs identifying trees, plants and animals that hikers may encounter.
History buffs fascinated by the Revolutionary War can walk the Battle of the Short Hills Historic Trail, following in the steps of American soldiers who fought the British in Metuchen on June 26, 1777, and then engaged in a running battle across what are now the townships of Edison and Scotch Plains.
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The Baltusrol Golf Club, which opened in 1895, is about nine miles from Watchung in Springfield Township. The members-only, 36-hole course was the site of this year’s PGA Championship.
Agent: John R. Salvato, Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
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