Great Pond Almighty: Obamas may be close to Edgartown home purchase

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No, at least not yet.

Contrary to a growing number of published reports, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck has not sold his 29-acre Edgartown hideaway on Edgartown Great Pond to former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama.

Island real estate broker Gerrett Conover is handling the property (with co-broker and business partner Tom LeClair), which is for sale at $14.85 million. Conover told the Times this morning through an office spokesperson that “the property has not been sold,” and that he would have no further comment on the matter, until and unless there were something definitive to report.

TMZ, of all media, reported midweek what we’ve been whispering for years here — that the Obamas were coming. They’ve been on-Island vacationing at Grousbeck’s 7,000-square-foot manse this month. 

Reportedly (according to reports in media ranging from the New York Post to the Boston Globe), the sale is imminent, pending resolution of contingencies. You might expect contingencies to pop up on a property sale in the $14 million range, so you never know.

Now, this is not our first celebrity home-purchase rodeo, and we can tell you this one feels real, compared, say, with the years-long, on-again, off-again Lady Gaga Chappy homebuying rumor. 

Certainly a community that voted more than 3 to 1 for Hillary Clinton in 2016 could be longing for a president they liked to live here. 

Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, expressed his excitement on Twitter Thursday: “The Obama’s [sic] are going to be constituents of the #CapeandIslands district!!!”

And don’t forget, the Obamas said they’d live in Washington until youngest daughter Sasha graduated from high school. That happened in June, and Sasha is reportedly heading for U. of Michigan. Older daughter Malia attends Harvard, just a Peter Pan and Red Line ride away. 

And Island photographer Anthony Esposito might be becoming a photographer to the stars. His 2015 shots of the Turkeyland Cove house for sale were picked up by the Globe for its piece today. Esposito isn’t holding his breath over impending stardom, but said,It’s an amazing place. [You can see it] paddleboarding on Edgartown Great Pond.”

Full disclosure: We ran across the former POTUS’ foursome teeing off at Farm Neck today. We thought about yelling a question to him, but figured the people in sunglasses (on a cloudy day) wouldn’t appreciate it, particularly in the middle of his backswing. 

33 COMMENTS

  1. That would be great, but I really don’t like that sales like these get out. Privacy should reign here and only get out if the new owners wish to disclose. Just my opinion.

  2. When he was the President he got 400k per year. His pension is 207k per year. and he’s spending 15m on a house. I guess this is the same type of math that gave us the real estate meltdown creating the financial crisis.

    • Both the Obamas came from little money and worked hard to earn everything they have– no silver spoons, no rich daddy giving them hundreds of millions to blow, no bankrupcies, no scandals. And they were capable, inspiring, intelligent, compassionate, accomplished human beings. I hope it’s not premature to welcome them to our community!

      • Heck yeah – the American Dream. Look at the Clintons who left the White House “dead broke” (their statement) and look at them now.

      • Very little money. His parents paid for an elite private school that cost more more than most colleges , poor thing. Worked so hard as a “community organizer”, we all all know how tough that job is ! I’m not sure but I’d go out on a limb saying he may have spent over 30 hours a week doing at this job!! Damn proud of him !

        • I know, right? And the scam-artist-in-chief you voted for must make you tickled pink with all his gold-plated garbage, scams, scandals, golf games, trade-wars, and driving us into a recession.

      • Bulk — for the record, both Barack and Michelle voluntarily gave up their licenses to practice law in 2008 rather than renew them. Why would the President of the United States need a license to practice law ? — But let me remind those out there with “Obama derangement syndrome” that the “scandal” surrounding that decision was as fake as the “birther” “scandal” and the “scandal” surrounding the multinational return to Iran of billions of dollars of Iran’s confiscated money after they agreed to give up their covert nuclear program.

    • notnew–we live in a capitalist society– the Obama’s have made millions of legally acquired dollars, and paid taxes on that money. No contractors are suing the Obama’s for not paying them for work done, they have never declared bankruptcy, and their tax returns are available to the general public. They have both written best selling books, are in high demand for speaking engagements for which they are paid very well, and I am pretty sure they have very good financial advisors.. Do you have a problem with people making money ? Isn’t that what capitalism is about ? Or is it only OK to make that kind of money if you do it in a sleazy underhanded way and pay no taxes on it ?
      If you don’t like the Obamas getting rich and being taxed at a lower rate than you, by all means, vote for Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders..

      • @Dondondon12 I’m glad you brought up a few points. Since tax returns are bothersome to you, I’d bet Trump would release his tax returns if Obama released his sealed college records. Why would you seal your college records unless you attended as a foreign student accepting free tuition? Why didn’t anyone remember him from Columbia? I could keep going on, but all the kool aid drinkers and lamestream media bum kissers bury the story. I’m sure his financial “advisors” are the same ones that put their time in at the treasury department to make sure that AIG didn’t fail since their former employers were on the ‘other side’ of the bets and would have gone belly up. So they let Bear Stearns and Lehman fail, forcing employees to lose their pensions and jobs while shareholders also lost. But not his buddies on the other side of the AIG bets.. they won big and the US taxpayer got the tab. These Dems always get good financial advise, just like Hillary’s commodity trading ‘expertise’, LONG before the crooked Clinton foundation slush fund. There is nothing on this earth that could make me fall for the lies and promises of Pocahontas or Bernie. They need to rely upon all the illegal voters registered to pull the lever for them for the ‘freebies’.
        And of course as ‘lifer12’ noted, there is quite a carbon footprint with the Mansion, and, if as Barry stated, global warming is the most serious threat facing us, why would he buy something so close to water. At least he could stop travelling by private jet (one of his favorite class warfare chants), skip the SUV and get the secret service to chauffer him around in a car meeting the mileage standards he imposed on others. Maybe a nice coal powered car, like a prius or a volt. And he could lower the carbon foot print if he installed some solyndra panels on the roof. A PERFECT illustration of how it goes with a limousine liberal… its ‘do as i say, not as i do’.

  3. this is news? — more likely gossip–
    yup, they might buy it, and the Obama haters will whine , but this is a gossip story.

    • Well he isnt president anymore its a free country he can do what he wants. Im glad he wants to invest in our island. I look forward to seeing him taking his recyclables to the dump.

    • Geno, you must mean the real McTrumps who starred in The Apprentice. The Obamas don’t do trash TV but i understand it’s popular among those who like that sort of junk.

  4. My goodness, the jealousy, anger and resentment over a brilliant, educated, successful black family’s abiltiy to climb the ladder of success without scandal and bankrupcies and afford a multi-million dollar home sure does raise its ugly head and rankle the MAGA hat-wearing, conartist-supporting group. Trump had hundreds of millions dollars handed to him on a silver platter as a young man and yet he’s still an ignorant buffoon with a long history of bankrupcies, a fake university, scamming those who worked for him, and staffing his properties with illegal immigrants.

    • Acerbic. “sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic or ironic in temper, mood or tone”, such as “acerbic commentary”.

    • “””without scandal””” all the Kool Aid drinking make one forget but the first of a Zillion (Obama) scandals would be one that I am closely familiar with ==>> “Remember it’s about a Video”… Which was about The 2012 Benghazi attack!!
      You folks are just to intolerant, angry, bias and totally still saddened deeply of our duly elected President whom you despise simply because you could not defeat him and us patriotic Deplorables regardless of all the dirty / unethical and illegal tactics used against him & still do to try to unseat him.
      Please for your own good seek help before his Re-election in 2020.
      Watching your reactions that election results night although still very comical to most of us will really concern us how you will react with his historic Re-election win in `2020`.
      Will see you at the polls!

      • While you are counting your chickens before they have hatched, perhaps you should be looking at the number of registered Republicans who have already left the party.State after state are reporting party member losses. Example. NH is lossing 2K GOP registerd voters every month

      • Are you also closely familiar with the fact that there were 10 investigations, 6 of them by Repub. controlled House committees, and there were no high ranking Obama officials who acted improperly regarding Benghazi, certainly not Obama? Why do you need to tell a lie to come up with just one of the “zillion” Obama scandals? How about his cheating on his 3 wives and paying off a porn star? Stiffing his workers? Hiring illegals? Draft dodging? Setting up a scam univerity? Emoluments? Come on, you can come with something real, can’t you? You must be so proud of your guy’s behavior at the G7, too. Who else skips out on climate meetings but has time to wish Regis a happy birthday? So proud! Glad to see the “gleefully contented” island Trumpites have quieted down about those racist plaques removed from public land. Seriously, doesn’t supporting a conman and blithering idiot get a little old? What’s your stand on the China tariffs?

    • Jackie, no one begrudges the home Obama purchased. We are simply confused because not long ago he lectured us on how to spend our money. Do you remember him saying “” sooner or later you have enough money dont need more, the house is big enough, you can only spend so much “” and so on. Remember?

      • “No one begrudges the home Obama purhased”. That’s funny, Andrew. And yet you still support that blithering idiot who makes a bigger fool of himself everyday, even when you think he can’t get any worse. Think the next G7 will be held at the Bedbug Inn? Obviously, your guy never can have enough money, despite emoluments.

  5. Beautiful property, but what’s the carbon footprint of a nearly-7,000 square foot main house? Given the location, they’re apparently not too concerned about rising ocean levels…

    • Moot points, unless you already know how the home is heated and cooled? (Okay, why with the ellipsis here?)

    • You mean…with a home with ground sourced heat pumps to heat the house, and Air conditioning that is used to heat the pool?

    • lifer12– you are correct about the carbon footprint– but on this specific building, we have no idea.
      but it is pretty easy to see that people with right leaning positions are opposed to limiting the size of houses. But then criticize any left leaning person for occupying one. Then , ironically enough, accuse the left leaning person of hypocrisy.

    • lifer12– I think we should not allow any house over 5000 sq ft on this island. I assume that would make you happy?

    • lifer12 they should not be too concerned in the short term about rising sea levels
      1 or 2 feet in the next 80 years will not really impact this property . And the Obama’s will not likely own this property 80 years from now. What they should be concerned about is more intense storms. But they have good insurance– when their house gets washed away, our insurance company will just raise our rates.. They will get the cash– we will pay.

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