There’s something spectacularly sinister about the multimillion-dollar Brooklyn mansion at 2458 National Drive in Mill Basin.
First, the estate commands a Manhattan-style price tag. Second, its value seems in free-fall—from $30 million to $17 million—after only a year on the market. And, oh yeah, the home was reportedly built by a Colombo crime family associate. Other than that, the secluded estate is nice—a relative “bargain,” considering it’s still the most expensive house in Brooklyn.
The massive mansion at 2458 National Drive in Mill Basin is considered New York's largest waterfront property.
So if red flags don’t scare you and you laugh in the face of suspected danger, this mansion could be yours… or James Bond’s… or Dr. Evil’s. The gated home owned by the family of a Russian-American socialite (think Paris Hilton in a mink coat and babushka), is a beautiful enigma that looks a bit out of place in Brooklyn. This mansion is Moby Dick in a small pond—a massive mansion in an otherwise upper-middle class neighborhood along Jamaica Bay.
2458 National Drive in Mill Basin is a massive mansion within an upper middle class neighborhood along Jamaica Bay.
The home is highlighted by soaring ceilings, skylights and great waterfront views.
The 23,000-square-foot estate appears as if it would be more at home on a south Florida or California coast. It seems ideal for a “boss”—a CEO, a music or fashion executive, or even Scarface (we’d like to cast Brooklyn stereotypes aside, but we repeat, it was built by a Colombo crime family associate!—so perhaps its boss-ness was the intended purpose).
Interiors are embellished with an open floor plan and expensive marble.
The palatial estate dwarfs its neighbors—with a unique architectural design that could pass for a corporate office, a Betty Ford Center, a modern art museum, an evil-genius lair, an Ebola-protection lab or a covert CIA safehouse (with a really cool pool). There’s something magnetically ominous about the home from the exterior—with secret parking for seven cars and two quick getaway boat slips. The property, designed by Noel Jeffrey, is actually two houses with lush landscaping and 257 feet of waterside frontage with a wrap-around terrace.
The circular meditation room with constellation signs of the zodiac sketched into the cupola.
Interiors were designed by Noel Jeffrey.
The 10-bedroom, 15-bathroom mansion is billed as New York’s largest waterfront property—with docks, a three-boat marina, and views of Manhattan (from the roof). The home boasts lots of marble, luxurious pendant lighting, skylights, 30- to 40-foot ceilings, four kitchens, a modern spiraling staircase (which resembles an escalator), a circular meditation room with a constellation-inspired cupola, an outdoor pavilion that seats 40 people, 30,000-square-feet of outdoor planted walkways and gardens, a Lalique fireplace surround, the 1,000-square-foot pool and spa, and everything short of "sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads,” as Austin Powers' Dr. Evil might observe.
Wide-open living spaces are a staple of this estate.
The home boasts 10 large bedrooms with spectacular views.
The 15 bathrooms on the estate are enhanced by marble and ample light from skylights.
This estate tests the imagination. If it looks and sounds like a movie set—it very well could be, and perhaps should be. All that’s missing is a heliport, which we speculate just may be beneath a secret retracting roof. Of course, all these stereotypes deflect from the mystery of this estate. We still know very little about 2458 National Drive in Mill Basin. And that’s just the way “the boss” would want it. If you want to know more, buy it. As for Dr. Evil, his efforts to buy this lair (and the world) would come up short--especially if his bid is only "one million dollars."
The 1,000-square-foot pool, sans sharks.
Outdoor pavilion which can hold 40 guests.
The estate was built by an associate of the Colombo crime family, but is suitable for any successful boss.
Photos courtesy of Curbed and Jeffrey Design Group
