(Christies International Real Estate)
What would the most expensive home ever sold in Aspen look like? You don’t have to imagine. This 20,740-square-foot resort-style manse — complete with every conceivable uber-luxe amenity — just hit the market for $75 million.
The ski-in property sports three outdoor tennis courts, a spa, media room, and its very own bowling alley. A glass-walled office overlooks a 60-foot-long lap pool. Listed by Christies International Real Estate, the home is also within walking distance of downtown Aspen.
The four-level property features a large open-plan living and dining room. Stone walls, wood-paneled ceilings, and a double-sided sculptural fireplace add to the allure. Many of the materials are imported: Walnut panels are from Poland. Stone is from the Ukraine. And porcelain tile and onyx marble are from Italy.
By the numbers, there are seven bedrooms and nine baths. A six-car garage comes complete with a turntable.
So who’s responsible for this abundance of opulence?
The home is the brainchild of Developer Leathem Stearn, a former aeronautical engineer and naval architect.
The project hasn’t been without its share of controversy. Last year, local elected officials threatened penalties alleging that the site had been overbuilt. Since that time, all issues have been resolved.
In some ways, complications around the permitting have increased the home’s value. “There’s never been anything entitled like this before and there never will be again,” Stearn recently told The Wall Street Journal.
The house is one of two on a seven-acre parcel the developer acquired for around $4.5 million in the mid-2000s. The other property sold for $22 million earlier this year to Christy Thompson, daughter of late Texas oil executive J. Cleo Thompson.
“Sales of second homes are on fire,” says Compass Realtor Suzanne Warner.
“The mindset of how people want to live has permanently changed.”
Her company, the Warner Group, is currently in the process of expanding its business to include the Colorado market.
Recent reports by brokerage Douglas Elliman confirm Aspen’s growing popularity. Twenty contracts were signed for homes prices at $10 million or more last October and November. This compares with just two during the same period in 2019.
Suzanne refers to it as a new Colorado lifestyle: Work in the morning, ski a few hours, take calls on your AirPods, then work a few more hours in the afternoon.
“It’s a new norm that’s here to stay.”
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