Tavern Island, a 6,116-square-foot private island off the Norwalk coast, is on the market again, this time for a reduced price of $8.7 million.
First settled by European explorers in 1651, Tavern Island”™s five-bedroom mansion was built in 1900 and its owners over the years included playwright Lillian Hellman and Broadway producer Billy Rose. The island was bought in 1981 for less than $1 million by Al Zesiger, managing director at Zesiger Capital Group LLC, and his wife, Barrie.
The Zesigers first listed Tavern Island for sale at $12.9 million in 2012, prior to Hurricane Sandy; the island sustained no damage during the storm. When no buyers came forth, its listing price was dropped to $11 million in 2014. But three years and no buyers later, the price has been reduced again.
Tavern Island is one of two privately owned properties in the 25-island Norwalk Islands chain. The other is Betts Island, a 1,132-square-foot property that was sold for $400,000 in 2014.
