Wanting to divvy up pieces of Main Line splendor
Known as the inspiration for The Philadelphia Story, the sublime Ardrossan estate tells a uniquely Main Line tale of high society and jigsaw development.
Known as the inspiration for The Philadelphia Story, the sublime Ardrossan estate tells a uniquely Main Line tale of high society and jigsaw development.
Now, it is at the center of a Main Line real estate drama.
Owned for nearly a century by the Montgomery-Scott-Wheeler family, the storied property went on the market six years ago, shortly after the death of Robert Montgomery Scott, longtime president of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and son of Hope Montgomery Scott, the high-society model for Katharine Hepburn's character in the 1940 Oscar-winning movie.
Although nearly half its original expanse of almost 800 acres has been sold or donated, the 50-room Georgian mansion and remaining 360 acres of pond and pasture constitute some of the most desirable real estate on the Main Line - and in the entire region.
It is also the last remaining open space in the 14 square miles of Radnor Township.
Township officials have been eyeing three parcels totaling 65 acres, to expand park land, for some time.
Now, Edgar Scott III, a family spokesman and grandson of Hope Montgomery Scott, wants to build 87 houses on the remaining land. He was to present a plan to the Radnor Township Planning Board on Monday night.
Scott is seeking a density modification that would allow him to dice the property into one-acre and quarter-acre lots rather than two-acre lots, which is what the current zoning calls for.
"Each lot has an absolutely spectacular view. It's really stunning," said Scott, a Realtor.
If the township buys the 65 acres, Scott said, he will build fewer homes.
The property already has been sliced into suburban homesteads, although on a grander scale than most. A 125-acre tract on Godfrey Road was divided into seven lots that have two existing and three new houses.
And 180 acres on Church Road across from Chanticleer Gardens was cut up into 16 lots, also with a mix of old and new houses.
Two of the three parcels that the township is interested in are on Darby-Paoli Road and would be used to expand Willows and Skunk Hollow Parks. The third is on the northeast corner of Newtown and Darby-Paoli Roads and is a cow pasture.
"This land is our view-shed and would become unsightly if houses were built on it," Township Commissioner William Springler said Monday. "This is the last land left in Radnor. We have to preserve it."
This is not the first time Scott has tried to develop smaller homes on the land. In 2007, he proposed building 80 carriage houses on 38 acres in Ardrossan's northeast corner. But that project was scuttled when neighbors complained.
The new plan calls for the homes to be spread out over the estate.
"We're not cluster, and we're not large lots like we've done in the past. We're something different, and we think that has appeal to today's market and going forward," said Scott, who spent the first two years of his life at Ardrossan and now lives in Delaware.
The property is held by two trusts that have represented the Montgomery-Scott-Wheeler family for six generations. Any decisions about the estate's future must be based on financial considerations.
Scott said it was too early to say for how much the lots would sell.
As a Realtor, he's aware of the trend to smaller houses and city living. But he thinks there's still a place for upscale suburban homes.
Living at Ardrossan "is for those people who still want a piece of country green and want to be close to the city," he said, "in a sort of refined basis."
