$5.5M riverfront home in Ulster County was the final work of a famed architect
When it came to architecture, Norman Jaffe was known as a modernist.
His clean, spare designs, characterized by natural elements, geometric shapes and lines framing open spaces, were popular with clients clamoring for homes in the Hamptons.
Jaffe died in a drowning accident in Bridgehampton in 1993; he was 61.
His influence reached far beyond Long Island, however. Jaffe designed office buildings in Manhattan and contemporary homes in California. In the Hudson Valley, the last home Jaffe completed before his death has just come on the market.
Located in West Park on Broadway, the property is listed for $5.5 million. It was designed and built from 1990 -1993 for the current owner and is coming on the market for the first time ever.
Due to his many Hamptons beach properties, the property goes by the name “Hamptons on the Hudson.” Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty listing agent Jessica Chan described it as “the scenery without the scenes."
According to the listing, this is the home that Jaffe said he was most pleased with among his later works.
Located on 20 acres of meticulous landscaping which includes gardens, waterfalls, terraces and loggias, the home offers spectacular views of the Hudson River —and of both the Vanderbilt estate and FDR's Springwood on the opposite bank — thru floor to ceiling windows.
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According to Julia B. Fee, owner Raymond Auyang gave Jaffe full reign in designing the property and the resulting work embraces Jaffe’s signature elements: a sculptural style, geometric lines, natural materials, neutral woods, skylights, glass and light.
Jaffe also incorporated limestone throughout to spotlight the owner’s art collection. Auyang is the founder of Tau Laboratories, which provides photomasks and imaging services to the chip industry and was acquired in the 1980s by Du Pont. Auyang founded the company in Poughkeepsie.
The property includes a private beachfront, tennis court, landscaped gardens, and a separate five-car garage — it holds the owner's car collection — which could be converted to a guest house, along with an attached two-car garage.
The home itself has nearly 13,000 square feet of living space, with six bedrooms and eight full and two half baths. For its size, it invites nesting with multiple nooks, window seats, and private outdoor terraces. A buyer with a yen for symmetry will find it here: There are evenly spaced columns around the indoor lap pool, for example, along with vaulted hallways with sky lights that each end in a floor to ceiling window; two identical waterfalls spill one into the other in the outdoor landscape.
Chan says the house provides a sense of “renewal, serenity and tranquility” and a place to “retreat and rejuvenate.”
Like this house?
1981 Broadway/Route 9, West Park, NY
Price: $5.5 million
Taxes: $91,165 (estimated)
Schools: Highlands Public Schools
Contact: Jessica Chan, Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty, 347-537-9623; 914-713-181
Karen Croke is the features editor for lohud.com and poughkeepsiejournal.com. Find my stories here. Reach me at kcroke1@lohud.com
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Hudson Valley home designed by famed Hamptons architect on the market
