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It's only $3.4 million
Chump change for TheColi.com
By Stefanos Chen
The roughly 5,600-square-foot home in North Caldwell, N.J., where America’s favorite fictional mobster scooped up his morning newspaper and swam with ducks, is being listed for sale by the owners, Patti and Victor Recchia, at a “starting price” of $3.4 million. Set on a 1.5-acre lot, it includes the main house with four bedrooms, four full bathrooms and a powder room; two two-car garages; and a detached one-bedroom guesthouse. The property taxes are $34,005 a year.
The price is ambitious for a neighborhood where comparable homes have sold for between $1.5 million and $2 million, according to Zillow. But Mr. Recchia, 65, the owner of Fourth Generation Construction, which built the house, as well as more than 20 in the development where it’s located, said the value exceeds the brick and mortar.
“Those things can be quantified,” said Mr. Recchia, “but I don’t think you can quantify the intrinsic value of this home.”
The house, where Tony Soprano pulled into the long, curving driveway in the opening credits of “The Sopranos,” was both a frequent filming location and the inspiration for a meticulous replica of the interiors at Silvercup Studios in Queens, N.Y.
Image
The cabinetry may have been updated, but the home’s kitchen is still recognizable to fans of the show, who watched much of the series’ domestic drama unfold there.CreditStefano Ukmar for The New York Times
Scenes in the pilot episode were filmed in the home’s kitchen, where viewers first met Tony’s long-suffering wife, Carmela, and their children, A.J. and Meadow. Tony, the sullen gangster with mommy issues, waded into the backyard pool with a family of ducks and had a panic attack on the patio in the same episode.
While later indoor scenes were mostly filmed on a Silvercup soundstage, the production crew returned to the Recchias’ home year after year for exterior shots. So do some die-hard fans.
“I was pulling out of the driveway and I noticed a few fellas on their motorcycles coming down the cul-de-sac,” said Ms. Recchia, about a recent interaction. “So I open my car window just to acknowledge them, and they say, ‘Hi, Mrs. Soprano! We’re not going to mess anything up, just want to take a couple photos.’”
“They’ll pull up in like a limo or something, get out in a robe, and pick up a newspaper,” said Mr. Recchia, who encountered a father and son who said the photo op was part of a Father’s Day present.
An unofficial Facebook page for the house has more than 1,200 “visits” at the address, along with dozens of selfies by grinning fans posed in front of the driveway. When the actor James Gandolfini, who played Tony, died suddenly in 2013, fans left flowers, candles and a bag of dried ziti near the curb.
“We’ve met a lot of great people,” Mr. Recchia said.
The house was one of 150 considered for the Sopranos’ home, Ilene S. Landress, a producer for the series, told The New York Times in 2002. “And from then on, the Recchia house determined the look of everything,” she said, while noting that the couple’s real décor was far more tasteful.
Today the home, which was built in 1987, has undergone some cosmetic changes, but retains much of what made the property a character in its own right. Gone are the pickled oak cabinets in the kitchen that defined a certain vision of late 1990s suburbia, but the long kitchen island that anchored the show’s domestic drama still stands.
On a recent tour, Mr. Recchia played home videos of the cast filming the pilot episode in his kitchen. In another video, Mr. Gandolfini joked poolside about not wanting to leave. “I’ll be here every Thursday at 7,” he said with a smile.
As the show became a critical darling and commercial juggernaut for HBO, the Recchias hosted still more celebrities. There was Steve Buscemi, who played Tony Soprano’s cousin, Tony Blundetto, and also directed some episodes. Annie Leibovitz, the famed photographer, shot a portrait of Mr. Gandolfini looking somber in the sitting room. Yogi Berra, the legendary Yankees catcher and manager, swung by once to watch the filming. “The crew was mesmerized,” Ms. Recchia said.
The Recchias are selling because their adult son moved out many years ago and they don’t need as much space. They plan to stay in New Jersey.
Image
The patio and backyard, where Tony Soprano had panic attacks and communed with ducks. CreditStefano Ukmar for The New York Times
Chump change for TheColi.com
By Stefanos Chen
- May 31, 2019
The roughly 5,600-square-foot home in North Caldwell, N.J., where America’s favorite fictional mobster scooped up his morning newspaper and swam with ducks, is being listed for sale by the owners, Patti and Victor Recchia, at a “starting price” of $3.4 million. Set on a 1.5-acre lot, it includes the main house with four bedrooms, four full bathrooms and a powder room; two two-car garages; and a detached one-bedroom guesthouse. The property taxes are $34,005 a year.
The price is ambitious for a neighborhood where comparable homes have sold for between $1.5 million and $2 million, according to Zillow. But Mr. Recchia, 65, the owner of Fourth Generation Construction, which built the house, as well as more than 20 in the development where it’s located, said the value exceeds the brick and mortar.
“Those things can be quantified,” said Mr. Recchia, “but I don’t think you can quantify the intrinsic value of this home.”
The house, where Tony Soprano pulled into the long, curving driveway in the opening credits of “The Sopranos,” was both a frequent filming location and the inspiration for a meticulous replica of the interiors at Silvercup Studios in Queens, N.Y.
Image
The cabinetry may have been updated, but the home’s kitchen is still recognizable to fans of the show, who watched much of the series’ domestic drama unfold there.CreditStefano Ukmar for The New York Times
Scenes in the pilot episode were filmed in the home’s kitchen, where viewers first met Tony’s long-suffering wife, Carmela, and their children, A.J. and Meadow. Tony, the sullen gangster with mommy issues, waded into the backyard pool with a family of ducks and had a panic attack on the patio in the same episode.
While later indoor scenes were mostly filmed on a Silvercup soundstage, the production crew returned to the Recchias’ home year after year for exterior shots. So do some die-hard fans.
“I was pulling out of the driveway and I noticed a few fellas on their motorcycles coming down the cul-de-sac,” said Ms. Recchia, about a recent interaction. “So I open my car window just to acknowledge them, and they say, ‘Hi, Mrs. Soprano! We’re not going to mess anything up, just want to take a couple photos.’”
“They’ll pull up in like a limo or something, get out in a robe, and pick up a newspaper,” said Mr. Recchia, who encountered a father and son who said the photo op was part of a Father’s Day present.
An unofficial Facebook page for the house has more than 1,200 “visits” at the address, along with dozens of selfies by grinning fans posed in front of the driveway. When the actor James Gandolfini, who played Tony, died suddenly in 2013, fans left flowers, candles and a bag of dried ziti near the curb.
“We’ve met a lot of great people,” Mr. Recchia said.
The house was one of 150 considered for the Sopranos’ home, Ilene S. Landress, a producer for the series, told The New York Times in 2002. “And from then on, the Recchia house determined the look of everything,” she said, while noting that the couple’s real décor was far more tasteful.
Today the home, which was built in 1987, has undergone some cosmetic changes, but retains much of what made the property a character in its own right. Gone are the pickled oak cabinets in the kitchen that defined a certain vision of late 1990s suburbia, but the long kitchen island that anchored the show’s domestic drama still stands.
On a recent tour, Mr. Recchia played home videos of the cast filming the pilot episode in his kitchen. In another video, Mr. Gandolfini joked poolside about not wanting to leave. “I’ll be here every Thursday at 7,” he said with a smile.
As the show became a critical darling and commercial juggernaut for HBO, the Recchias hosted still more celebrities. There was Steve Buscemi, who played Tony Soprano’s cousin, Tony Blundetto, and also directed some episodes. Annie Leibovitz, the famed photographer, shot a portrait of Mr. Gandolfini looking somber in the sitting room. Yogi Berra, the legendary Yankees catcher and manager, swung by once to watch the filming. “The crew was mesmerized,” Ms. Recchia said.
The Recchias are selling because their adult son moved out many years ago and they don’t need as much space. They plan to stay in New Jersey.
Image
The patio and backyard, where Tony Soprano had panic attacks and communed with ducks. CreditStefano Ukmar for The New York Times
