Benrus CEO Feroce’s Wyndham Estate in Newport to be auctioned

NEWPORT – The 36 Beacon Hill Road property known as Wyndham Estate, purchased by Benrus CEO Giovanni Feroce in 2013, will be auctioned off on Aug. 25, according to Concierge Auctions on Wednesday.

Originally listed at $12.9 million, the Newport gilded-age estate built in 1890 will be auctioned to the highest bidder by Concierge Auctions in cooperation with Michael Sweeney of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty. Feroce purchased the property for $6.8 million while CEO of Alex and Ani LLC.

At the time he was quoted in a news release as saying, “I do not believe in reinventing the wheel. … The wealthiest of Americans should reconsider making Newport home once more as it was in the Gilded Age and not limit it to a tourist attraction.”

The estate was designed by William Ralph Emerson, cousin of American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, who fitted the 15,865-square-foot mansion with eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two half-bathrooms, a library and a ballroom. The house also includes a home theater, chef’s kitchen and custom millwork and ceiling frescoes, as well as gated entry and a man-made pond.

Emerson’s estate sits on more than four acres and provides 360-degree views of the harbor and ocean.

Kyle Borowski is a PBN contributor.