Dasmarka Real Estate

Again, we're not sure how delightful these afternoon tidbits are perhaps they'll keep your real estate appetites whetted for a while longer.
Earlier today our compadres at Curbed presented an epic (and ultimately pyrrhic) 40,000-ish square foot mega-mansion in Fort Washington, PA–that's outside of Philly, folks–that recently clanked and clamored on the market with a pearl-clutching $30,000,000 price tag.

While thirty million smackers is an astronomical amount of money by any standard, the owner–a "ruined credit card tycoon" named Dennis Alter–reportedly spent a truly unnerving $80,000,000 to design, build and furnish his 6 bedroom and 8 bathroom beast of a house.

Have mercy! Somebody run quick and get Your Mama a nerve pill. Lowerd, children, it may not be unheard of for someone to spend such a sum to build a especially massive monument to their wealth but we still go bug-eyed with flabbergast and financial disbelief when those sorts of sums are bandied about in connection to a single private residence.

The sprawling, civic center-sized contemporary was conceived by the bold, exceedingly prolific and much lauded Uruguayan-born/U.S.-based architect Rafael Viñoly. Built on 70 acres, the massive mansion encircles a colossal stone courtyard perhaps more than a little influenced by European piazzas.

In addition to the main house, the expansive pastoral property encompasses two restored stone farmhouses that overlook a private pond, a tennis pavilion and a corporate retreat-sized "Play House" outfitted to the gills with exercise room, changing rooms with showering facilities, and an indoor tennis court plus a two-bedroom apartment perfect for the on-site housing of a thick-thighed tennis pro and a body fat-free fitness instructor.

listing photos: Christies International Real Estate