Classic Wright house on the move -- for $5M
If you thought real estate was all about location, location, location, think again. The $5 million asking price on the newly listed Bachman Wilson House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, includes moving the entire house from flood-addled Millstone, N.J., to the Richard Reinhardt's Houses at Sagaponac development in the Hamptons. Credit: Tarantino Studio
A 1950s Frank Lloyd Wright house is up for sale for $5 million -- a price that includes moving the classic from its New Jersey location to a modern-home development in Sagaponack.
Architects Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino, who specialize in buying and restoring Wright houses, bought the 3,200-square-foot Bachman-Wilson House in 1988. It had been damaged by a 1971 hurricane, and the couple restored it using Wright's original plans.
But its location by the Millstone River led to several floods of the house, prompting the architects to consider moving it about 145 miles to the Hamptons.
"It's something we are doing to save this house," Sharon Tarantino said Friday.
Last year, she read about the Houses at Sagaponac, where prefabbed, multimillion-dollar modern homes are set in a forest-like backdrop.
The Tarantinos called development co-owner Richard Reinhardt, and he agreed to give their house a home. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
While Sharon Tarantino did not have an estimate on moving costs, she said she and her husband have moved other Wright houses before and that it won't be risky.
The couple sees the house, named after the original buyers, as "one of the purest designs" of a Usonian, a term coined by Wright to describe his houses meant for moderate-income families who wanted architectural quality.
The sale also includes a guest house and a pool on two acres.
The Southampton office of the Brown Harris Stevens real estate brokerage listed the house about two days ago, and agent Amelia Doggwiler said potential buyers will have to trek to Millstone.
"It's going to be the only Wright house in the Hamptons," she said. "It's a piece of history that everybody's going to talk about."
With Lara Ewen
