de Savary Sells Merrillton Mansion for $8.6 Million

Merrillton Mansion has been sold.

Businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist Peter de Savary announced the sale on Thursday, saying he took pleasure in restoring the historic property after purchasing it in 2012.

The mansion sold for $8.675 million, which includes some furnishings.

"Having lived in Newport over the past 35 years, I have had the great pleasure of restoring and improving a number of properties in the Newport area, including homes of a special historic nature," de Savary said in a release. "I look forward to my next restoration challenge!”  

The historic Italianate Villa was designed and built by Samuel Powel during the Gilded Age in 1853. Situated on Bowery Street off Bellevue Avenue, it is surrounded by two-and-a-half acres of gardens including specimen trees and a wooded glen.

In 2009, previous owner Marcella Clark McCormack donated a perpetual conservation easement on 2.29 acres of the estate to the Aquidneck Land Trust.

City records show that de Savary paid $2.4 million for the mansion in 2012.

de Savary was represented by Stacie Mills, principal broker of Vanderbilt International Properties, LTD, of Newport.

The buyer was not disclosed.

de Savary was the America’s Cup challenger for Great Britain in 1983 and founded Carnegie Abbey, private championship golf and sporting estate located on Narragansett Bay in 2000.