Fort-like residence on the market in N.J. has a connection to the Titanic

A dairy barn that was converted into a luxury home will have a new owner for the first time in 70 years.

Cobble Close Farm is a French country estate located in Red Bank. It’s part of a co-op of four residences. And the 4,950-square-foot, three bedroom, three bathroom estate is about to hit the market for $1,575,000.

The home also has a $3,200 per month homeowners association fee that covers the property taxes, landscaping, exterior building maintenance, snow plowing and more.

The home was built in the 1920s for Herbert Straus, an heir of Macy’s co-owner and U.S. Congressman Isidor Straus, who died on the Titanic with his wife, Ida, who refused a seat in a lifeboat to remain by her husband’s side on the sinking ship.

It originally consisted of 143 acres and was built in the French Norman style with materials that were shipped from Europe and then brought in on trains. The property is now about 13 acres with four private residences built of stucco and cast stone with red, ceramic-tiled roofs. They are surrounded by fountains, gardens, a pool, lawns rimmed by Greco-Roman statues, and an orangery.

The estate is bordered by the Navesink Country Club and a horse farm. It’s a 45 minute commute to Manhattan and about 10 minutes from the beach.

The original home within the farm burned down many years ago, listing agent Katherine Raftery, of Resources Real Estate, said. The dairy barn was converted to a home in the 1950s and consists of 11 rooms, including a solarium, parlor, dining room and sunken living room.

You enter the home, into a slate and stone floor room, that was used as a dormitory for the farm workers. To the left is a sunken living room with marble tile floor and a chandelier, which is adjacent to the solarium. Stairs in the sunken living room lead to a regally decorated dining room. From there you can access the colonnade.

“You don’t get properties like this in New Jersey,” Raferty said. “It’s almost like a castle.”

The owner of the home passed away in 2021 and doesn’t have any heirs. The proceeds from the sale will go to non-profits, Raferty said.

The buyer of the home will likely be someone who appreciates “old world charm and history,” she said. “It’s really an amazing property.”

And it could be someone looking to relocate from New York City. “The co-op structure is really foreign to New Jersey. New York buyers are more familiar with co-ops,” Raferty said.

The owner of this home and the owners of the other three homes on the property all vote as a board. They have a reserve account for expenses and they have a treasurer, she said.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

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Allison Pries may be reached at [email protected].