Katharine Hepburn’s waterfront home in Old Saybrook has been sold to a neighbor who plans to renovate the property, Hepburn’s real estate agent said.
Frank Sciame, a New York City-based architect who owns F.J. Sciame Construction Co. Inc., signed a contract to buy the home, Colette Harron of The Mitchel Agency in Essex said Tuesday.
She wouldn’t reveal the sale amount, but said it was under the $12 million asking price. The price was knocked down a few times because the 1939 home needs cosmetic work in the kitchen and bathrooms, she said.
The 8,000-square-foot brick house, which sits on 3.3 acres and overlooks Long Island Sound, has nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms and five fireplaces.
Hepburn died June 29, 2003, at the house in the Fenwick section of Old Saybrook. The actress was 96.
Sciame, who lives in the same neighborhood, described Hepburn’s home as “the jewel of Fenwick.” His company specializes in historic renovations and has done construction work throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The sale would not include 4 acres of wetlands that Hepburn bequeathed to a conservation group. The parcel is home to a variety of wildlife and plant life, and it has dunes, which are rare along the Connecticut coast.