Unique 3 Acre California Contemporary in Montgomery County Sold

California Contemporary - 3 striking acres - Creek
Chef’s Kitchen - Custom Wine Room - Fully Renovated

This is a one-of-a-kind home in the heart of Collegeville borough. Architecturally, it is a 6,000+/- square foot, 1962 California Contemporary that was built by Dr. Larson, a dentist in town at the time. It was his main residenceand he later sold it to a local church which used it as a residence for nuns who taught at the elementary school. They were transferred in 2001 and it was sold to the current owners in January of 2003. Both the interior and exterior of the home were fully renovated between 2003 and 2012. The current owners are reluctantly selling due to career transfers.

The property, nearly 3 acres, is located in the borough of Collegeville, Montgomery County, two blocks south of the main entrance to Ursinus College on 6th Avenue-arguably, the nicest block in the borough. It is one of the largest properties in the borough and includes a creek that runs through the south side of the lot. The street is tree-lined and quiet with an interesting mix of architecture. Much of the borough merchants and services are a very short distance from the home.

The upper, or street, level consists of a chef’s kitchen, formal dining room which opens to a two-tiered paver patio, living room with floor to ceiling windows and 2 sliding doors opening to a deck, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, laundry, the main hall with one wall of bookshelves, and a large, 2 car attached garage. The lower level includes a home office with built-in cabinets, a custom 600+ bottle wine room, family room with walk-out sliding doors to a paver patio, bedroom, full bath, and storage and furnace rooms. There is a storage shed, professional landscaping, landscape lighting and underground soaker system with timers, stately trees, and a security system

This home is owned by the listing agent.

Price: $650,000

Street view of back and upper level deck

Driveway plantings, early spring

Shed

Early spring

Lower patio

Upper patio

Front Door

Front entrance

Dining room

Dining room fireplace

Wine room

Wine room 2

Kitchen wet bar

Kitchen stove stack

Kitchen sink view

Kitchen breakfast nook

Kitchen pantry, built-in fridge

Master bedroom

Master bedroom 2

Master bedroom 3

Bedroom 2 w/bath view

Bedroom 2 upper level

Bedroom, lower level

Bedroom, lower level closets

Living room

Living room w/partial view of windows

Master bath large shower

Master bath, main sink area

Lower level hall

Tall grasses, early spring

Driveway entrance, early spring

Early spring ground cover under hemlock stand

Laundry, upper level

Family room, lower level

Full bath, lower level

Powder room

Office w/custom cabinets

Office

Office w/custom cabinets

Driveway plantings, early spring

Arrow Indicates property location

Approximate plot plan of subject property

This is a one-of-a-kind home in the heart of Collegeville borough.  Architecturally, it is a 6,000+/- square foot, 1962 California Contemporary that was built by Dr. Larson, a dentist in town at the time.  It was his main residence and he later sold it to a local church which used it as a residence for nuns who taught at the elementary school.  They were transferred in 2001 and it was sold to the current owners in January of 2003. Both the interior and exterior of the home were fully renovated between 2003 and 2011.  It is perfect for empty nesters, entertaining, and for raising children in a great town.

The current owners are reluctantly selling due to career transfers.

The Location
The property, nearly 3 acres, is located in the borough of Collegeville, Montgomery County, two blocks south of the main entrance to Ursinus College on 6^th Avenue-arguably, the nicest block in the borough.  It is one of the largest properties in the borough and includes a creek that runs through the south side of the lot. The street is tree-lined and quiet with an interesting mix of architecture.  Much of the borough merchants and services are a very short distance from the home, including several churches, Ursinus College, pharmacy, Redners grocery store, interesting pubs and restaurants (including Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, a microbrewery, Mexican, several pizza shops, etc.), jewelry stores, beauty salons and spas, a fitness center, dry cleaning, liquor store, Dunkin’ Donuts, the Collegeville Diner, a unique (non-chain) pet food store, a WaWa Mart/gas station, the Perkiomen Trail, the post office, the borough office, Collegeville Economic Development Corporation, Perkiomen Valley Chamber of Commerce, several physician offices, two Quest Diagnostic locations, and an Asian Market that will be opening soon.  The Marketplace at Collegeville which includes a Wegman’s, a Movie Tavern, Staples, LA Fitness, Olive Garden, PF Changs, Red Robin, and many other retail and dining options, is a short 3 mile drive.  The polling location is set up at St. Eleanor’s Rectory basement, one block from the property.  A fire hydrant is directly across the street and the fire department is 4 blocks away.

The Interior:

Upper Level
The upper level, which is at street level, is a partial open floor plan with hardwood floors throughout except in the kitchen.  A visitor at the front door walks into a hall with a chandelier, an oak banister around the stairs to the lower level and then is immediately drawn into the living room. 

The living room has one wall with floor to ceiling windows and two sliding glass doors leading to the roofed wooden deck that overlooks the creek.  It also has a ceiling fan, spotlights for wall hangings, built-in shelving and cabinet unit, and open beams.

There is a spacious dining room with a stunning chandelier, open beams, and a gas insert fireplace which could revert back to a wood fireplace if desired.  The side outside door is off the dining room.

Also off the hall is a study with open beams, large closet and ceiling fan which could be used as a fourth bedroom; and a powder room with contemporary sink and fixtures.

The spacious kitchen has two pocket doors, one leading to the dining room and one to the hall, natural cherry custom cabinets, a large capacity Viking fan over a five burner Dacor gas cooktop, built-in Viking warming tray, convection oven and convection microwave, Bosch dishwasher, built-in Whirlpool refrigerator with water filter and ice maker, pull-out pantry shelves, upper and lower Lazy Susans, appliance garage, two pull-out spice racks, other pull-out shelves, a coat closet off the insulated door to the garage, stone tile floor, granite countertops, recessed lighting, hanging lights over the large sink, garbage disposal, built-in benches with custom table, eat-in bar area attached to the sink station, wall mount for a television, and a separate bar area with a built-in wine refrigerator, sink, cabinets, and wine rack.

Turning down the main hall to the two bedrooms is a half wall with library bookshelves on one side and a coat closet and laundry room with a deep sink on the other side.

The smaller bedroom has a ceiling fan, large clothes closet and linen closet plus an adjacent full bath with pocket door, glass shower, and attached lighted makeup mirror.

The Master bedroom has two large closets, ceiling fan, wall mount for a television, and an adjoining full bath with a glass double shower and two sink stations.

Lower Level
The lower level has Berber wall-to-wall carpeting in the bedroom, family room, and hall. 

The hall has wall lighting and two closets for linens, one of which is cedar.

The bedroom, with ceiling fan, is very spacious with two large clothes closets-one is cedar-and is next to the full bath with heated tile floor and large Jacuzzi-style tub and shower.  This could also serve as the Master bedroom suite.

At the base of the stairs leading to the upper level is another large closet which could be converted to a storage pantry.  The stairway has an Oriental rug runner.

The office has a full wall of built-in custom cherry cabinets with three pull-out shelves for fax machines and printers, a ceiling fan, a wall mount for a television, an Engineered hardwood floor, wood blinds, and a supplemental electric heating unit.  This room could be converted to another bedroom.

The family room has sliding doors to the walk-out patio, large closet, television mount, and ceiling fan. 

One of the truly unique features of the home is a custom wine room with an arched entranceway.  With a 600+ bottle capacity in two separate, enclosed rooms, the current owners use one for reds and one for whites.  The red room has a wood French door with windows and an arched side window; the smaller white room also has a wood door with windows.  Both rooms are located against an outside wall which is below ground so are naturally cool.  Contemporary lighting inside the rooms offers a striking setting for receptions and family get-togethers.   The wine room also contains a tile floor, wall lighting, custom, cherry cabinets with interior lighting, granite countertops, built-in refrigerator, copper sink, and dishwasher.

A carpeted storage room and furnace room complete the lower level.

Systems
The house is heated with forced air natural gas and has a gas fireplace insert, a gas stove and oven, and gas connections for additional units such as an outdoor grill.  Heating and air conditioning units are highly efficient with the monthly utility bill usually around $200 but even in the coldest or hottest months, never more than $450.00. There is a large capacity electric water heater.  The furnaces and central air conditioning units were replaced in 2003.  There is a dehumidifier for summer months and humidifiers for the dryer winter months.  Electric service, with two breaker boxes, was updated in 2012, and PECO changed the meter in 2013. Both Comcast and Verizon Fios have service to the street with high speed internet options (the home currently has Verizon Fios).  The present owners installed 5 wall mounts for television sets throughout the home.   A security system, exterior lighting, and flood lights on each corner of the house controlled from the master bedroom, dining room, and lower level bedroom offer peace of mind.  

Nearly all of the interior doors are solid wood.

The Exterior
In addition to the stately trees on the property which have been trimmed and cared for regularly, EP Henry pavers surround the home and include a bi-level patio and garage entrance area with drainage pipe.  Shrubbery was selected to attract a wide variety of wild birds.  Hawks and a Great Horned Owl are typical visitors.  Other critters that call this home include squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, muskrat, deer, chipmunks, raccoons, fox, and skunks.   There is a unique Chinese tulip tree planted on the property.  One acre of the property is fenced with post and rail with a wire fence attached to contain dogs and small children.  There is a large shed.  A stand of hemlock trees, which have been sprayed regularly with oil for woolly adelgid, grow on the street side of the lot and attract dozens of yellow finches.  Blue birds, blue jays, cardinals, barn swallows, mourning doves, wrens, and a huge variety of other species are resident on the property and are attracted by a number of bird houses, baths, and feeders.

The home is desert sand (real) brick; every window was replaced with vinyl in 2003; the eaves were covered with vinyl so there is very minimal exterior painting required.  Volpe Builders put on a new roof in late 2011; most of the gutters were covered to minimize cleaning jobs in the fall. 

There is a sliding door entrance on the lower level, a wood side door entrance with a small deck on the side leading out to the upper patio, a wood front door with two side panels leading out to a covered entrance, and two large sliding doors off the living room leading out to the upper level deck that overlooks the creek.  There is a two-car, attached garage and several outside hose hookups.  Landscape lighting and in-ground soaker systems on timers complete the outside.

Other Noteworthy Items
The combination of annual real estate and school taxes is currently close to $10,000.00.  This includes weekly trash collection and prompt snow removal.  Water and sewer, which are billed quarterly, are public and provided by C-T Utilities (Collegeville-Trappe boroughs).

Items available for purchase
Entertainment center in living room, tall bookcase in Master bedroom, some televisions, high top table and chairs in wine room, wine room wall hanging, two fabric wall hangings in lower level hallways, custom table in breakfast nook, fireplace screen and decorative horse grates.  Some bedroom furniture may also be made available.

Items which remain with the house
Chandeliers, window furnishings, Oriental stair runner to lower level, ceiling fans, built-in light fixtures, refrigerators, washer/dryer.

Special Note
Sellers have set aside all warranties and instructions for various appliances and other home systems, and will provide a list of contact information for service providers they used.

Call Nancy Kyle at 570-386-5000 for a color brochure.

Nancy R. Kyle
New Pennsylvania Realty, Inc.
103 Mush Dahl Road
NEW RINGGOLD, PA 17960
570-386-5000
nkyle@newpennrealty.com

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