The sky’s the limit at this listed home. Buy the property, asking $2.99 million, and you can take off and land on your own private airstrip.
Indeed, this contemporary Connecticut hilltop spread comes with its own airstrip and hangar — the only FAA-approved paved airstrip in the state — and sits on 50 acres, says broker Ellen Sebastian of William Pitt Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty.
The seller is trailblazer Barbara Hackman Franklin, a former commerce secretary under Pres. George H.W. Bush, who created the first White House effort to recruit women to government service. Franklin, 83, was also one of Harvard University’s first female MBA graduates and one of the first commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. She’s also the widow of the late Wallace Barnes — a pilot, Connecticut state senator and chairman and CEO of Barnes Group, a global manufacturer of aerospace and industrial components.
The modern house, at 1875 Perkins St. in Bristol, was built in 1988.
When the couple first commissioned the architect, he asked them what they wanted. “Wallace said he wanted an airplane hangar in the house and Barbara said she wanted a gym with views,” Sebastian said. “The architect then said, ‘OK, fine. Do you want any bedrooms too?’ ”
At 5,654 square feet, the dwelling features three bedrooms, 4½ baths, two fireplaces, an elevator and panoramic views from its large windows. It also boasts that home gym, an indoor resistance pool and a spa. The airstrip is 1,800 feet long and 24 feet wide — fit for a small plane or a helicopter, but not a jet.
“You can land your plane on the airstrip and taxi right into the hangar, which is in the house. It’s just like driving into your garage,” Sebastian said. “On one side of the entrance is the garage for cars and on the other side is the automatic door for your airplane hangar.”
