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You Can Buy This Abandoned CT Town For Less Than A Brooklyn Apartment
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 28, 2014
Modified Oct 29, 2014
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 28, 2014
Modified Oct 29, 2014
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This cute, abandoned town in Connecticut is basically Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, and it's currently being sold off at auction with a starting bid of $800,000. That's less than a brownstone in Brooklyn. That's less than some studio apartments here. It's a whole goddamn town! That's 62-acres, plus plenty of homes and General Store type structures that may or may not be haunted by cool, historic ghosts. Here's the deal:
"Why are they selling an entire town? Well, for starters, it’s been vacant for more than 20 years and through its history, has been abandoned not once, not twice, but three times
Dating back to the 1830s, Johnsonville was once a thriving mill town and popular recreation spot set along the Moodus River, with amenities including a restaurant called the Red House Restaurant, a general store and a one-room schoolhouse.
Victorian and colonial-style houses with fireplaces and pillared porches were built by the families of the mill-owners where they lived contently up until the 1950s. All the historic buildings still remain. But then modernization crept up on the quaint community, work dried up and Johnsonville became a ghost town for the first time."
According to the auction site, the buyer will be in a unique opportunity to redevelop the town by combining "the historic value of the 19th century village with 21st century living as permitted uses include: single family, multifamily housing to include market rate and affordable, senior housing, arts/entertainment center, B&B’s, inn, restaurant/banquet facility, retail shops and schools." And just think, you'd be like a 40 minute drive to all that pizza.
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connecticut
johnsonville
let's all move
real estate
stars hollow
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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