Richard Gere Historic Home: What happens when a historic celebrity home is demolished? Richard Gere’s $10.75 million Connecticut estate is gone, but where did the 1938 oak library, marble fireplace, antique doorway and other pieces go?

Richard Gere’s former New Canaan, Connecticut, home sat empty for less than a year before being demolished last year. In October 2024, Richard Gere, 75, and his wife, Alejandra Gere, 42, sold their New Canaan, Conn., property for $10.75 million before relocating to Spain. By August 2025, the 1938 historic brick Georgian Colonial-style country manor was gone. The manor was reduced to an empty parcel of land, and the new owners plan to divide the plot into nine lots that could fit as many luxury homes.And just like that, the 87-year-old historic home was gone. The wrecking ball swept through what was once a six-bedroom house complete with a koi pond, a courtyard and enough architectural detail to make preservationists wince! So, before the trucks arrived, the salvage team sprang into action to rescue what could be saved. “We recently checked in, and the house has been taken down. We are grateful that the buyers allowed us time to salvage and get everything out,” salvage company owner Reggie Young told People.It’s been a year since the house was demolished. But what happened to the cerused oak library, Italian marble mantels and hand-carved stone doorways?

The former celebrity owners

Pic credit: Realtor.com

The historic manor has seen many elite owners ever since it was built in 1938. Richard Gere and his wife purchased the Connecticut estate from legendary singer Paul Simon in 2022 for $10.8 million, a discount from its listing price. Simon and his wife, Edie Brickell, bought the property in 2002 for a whopping $16.5 million. The couple had owned it longer, watching their daughter Lulu grow up in its rooms. When Gere sold it two years later, he triggered a chain reaction that would ultimately undo nearly a century of history. No wonder Lulu reacted the way she did. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Lulu conveyed that she was not happy with the demolition. “Just in case anyone was wondering if I still hate Richard Gere—I do!” And she has her reasons for that.Gere sold it to the developer, SBP Homes, and they transformed the 32-acre lot into a nine-property luxury subdivision, turning it into the largest new residential project New Canaan has seen since 2007. The plot was turned into a nine-lot subdivision ranging in size from 2.2 to 4.8 acres, according to CT Insider. The plan was to sell the land in parcels, empty. They knew wealthy buyers would buy it and build their own vision. “We’re very excited about this project. From the beginning, our goal was to thoughtfully accommodate a wide range of interests in how the property would be developed,” SBP Homes project manager Adam Sherer said in a statement.And just like any other developer project, there is rarely room for sentiment or preservation. So, no, the developer had no sentiment for Lulu’s childhood home, even though it was historic. The cost of maintaining a 1938 Colonial while carving a subdivision around it didn’t pencil out. The legal complications of heritage designation were even more complicated. So demolition was the only way forward for the developers.

What got saved

Pic credit: Realtor.com

In May 2025, a New York salvage company called Hudson Valley House Parts was called in to salvage parts of the 1938 six-bedroom brick Colonial, according to Realtor.com. “It’s so important that the developers allowed the project to be salvaged,” Young told People. He added that it was ‘a real shame’ that the house was being torn down. “Once the stuff is gone, it’s never coming back,” he told Realtor.com.The firm managed to rescue various unique elements from the property, including an oak library, nautical-themed bay windows, limestone and marble mantels and other architectural features. They were too good to be torn out in the demolition.All these were priceless in the market, as high-end homebuyers often seek to add historical character to new spaces. So there is a demand for marble mantels, refurbished wood flooring and antique hardware. However, there’s a gap between demand and actual execution. Most of these demolished homes never get properly salvaged; as a result, only 20 to 30 per cent of construction and demolition debris is recovered for reuse, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.However, Gere’s house had better luck. The octagonal bluestone patio, complete with what Hudson Valley House Parts described as ‘exceptional patina’, was lifted and palletised. The colonial window sashes went into storage. A limestone mantel travelled to a buyer in New Orleans. The ornate doorway with fanned glass and Egyptian columns found a new home in a Colonial Revival renovation in Indiana.“Mantels are popular,” Young said. He added that “a good marble mantel usually goes for $4,000 to $8,000.”Other parts of the home that were salvaged include the nautical motifs made of steel, the mid-century bay windows, a limestone mantel and a marble mantel; a complete cerused oak library with a curved fireplace and built-in wall panelling; exterior stone steps with an iron railing; a portico; and the entire entryway with its arched jamb, door surround and panelled walls. The bluestone edge of the koi pond was also rescued.The oak library panels, the stone patio and the marble mantel may find another house. But the 1938 house itself, the one with 87 years of history, is erased, and the land now awaits a new one.