Latest news with #Stronghold
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Forbes
The $10 Million New Jersey Estate Paying Homage To The Gilded Age
The 32-acre estate extends a Gilded-Age tradition when Manhattan magnates fled the clamor for Somerset Hills serenity. Opulence has its place. That place, in late 19th-century America, was about an hour west of New York City. Industrialists and financiers with sudden mind-boggling wealth were seduced by deeply wooded hills and large tracts of open land in a sweet New Jersey enclave. Welcome to the Gilded Age, country style. Fresh off the railway line nicknamed the Millionaire's Express, scions of Manhattan society flocked to Bernardsville, a borough in the Somerset Hills where they could breathe mountain air and exercise their wealth by commissioning a haven or two to sit upon America's landscape. Across New Jersey's Somerset Hills, undulating meadows fold into tree-topped ridges Their architect would be George Browne Post (1837-1913). With landmarks such as the New York Times Building and the New York Stock Exchange behind him, Post urged his urban clients to decamp to the country and luxuriate in new palatial residences, unironically referred to as 'summer cottages'. Bernardsville, New Jersey became the ideal location for some of Post's most grandiloquent statements, including a massive Italiante castello-cum-castello called Stronghold built for a socialite-cum-lawyer who married an Astor. He nicknamed it Crow's Foot. The marriage didn't last, neither did the name. The Gilded Age ended as the 19th century closed its eyes, and the world got jolted into the brutal events of the century ahead. But that's not where this story ends. Fashioned over five painstaking years and finished in 2003, the mansion channels turn-of-the-century Georgian grace with crisp symmetry in steadfast red brick. A hundred years later, many of Bernardsville's grand homes still stand. And, in 2003, the age-old formula of wealth plus ambition—with more than a dash of fond nostalgia for more genteel times—saw the empathetic creation of a singular residential estate that reinstated the intense beauty and gentle excesses of the Gilded Age. Falcon Crest rivals any of its predecessors. Less than an hour from New York City and built on Bernardsville Mountain, the 32-acre property exudes a quiet elegance and stately style. It recently came on the market through Turpin Realtors, which specializes in luxury properties in north-central New Jersey. Reception rooms clad in intricate moulding and pilasters are ready to host soirées of both grand or intimate scales. 'This house has earned itself a seat at that table as one of the great estates of the area, even though it was built in modern times,' says John Turpin. Its commanding presence seems to rise out of nowhere within an expansive surrounding forest of mature trees. Within this enveloping privacy, the six-bedroom Georgian-influenced main house pays homage to the Gilded Age, not just by its looks but also in its construction. The hand-milled moldings, 10-foot ceilings, stone fireplaces, grand staircases and craftsmanship throughout this house may have turned the head even of the Astors. Decor and furnishings, such as an elaborately carved wooden billiard table topped with bright red felt, spell the spirit of past times. Intricate crown molding frames the formal dining room, while French doors usher conversation straight into blooming gardens. Falcon Crest covers 25,000 square feet. (A separate four-bedroom cottage accommodates staff or guests.) Within which, some surprises delight. A vaulted wine cellar in the basement holds more than 16,000 bottles for the adjoining tasting room, a nice touch of Vanderbilt proportions. A towering two-story library made of Eastern white pine topped by a softly lit dome took teams of specialist workers nine weeks to build. Imported mantels crown every hearth, adding old-world flourish to each of the estate's gathering places. Turpin likens the grandeur of this property to Blairsden, a 500-acre estate in nearby Peapack-Gladstone built for New York banker Clinton Ledyard Blair as the centuries turned, when Bernardsville benefited from the millionaire's gaze. Falcon Crest is a worthy, quieter neighbor. The borough endures as an ultra-wealthy bedroom community to New York City. It remains small, around 8,000 residents, divided between the 'mountain' where the old mansions preside and the 'village' where newcomers come to work and prosper. A train still whisks passengers to the city, though no one calls it the Millionaire's Express anymore. Below the finery, a brick-vaulted sanctuary marshals battalions of corked treasures. The Bernardsville of the Gilded Age was a place to escape the city, a place to entertain like Gatsby, a place to voice architectural proclamations. One hundred years later, Falcon Crest estate sits calmly—shall we say no less sumptuously but discreetly and refined—as a place to breathe in the quietude of bountiful country air. Susan Miller and Molly Tonero are the listing agents for Falcon Crest. Turpin Realtors is a member of Forbes Global Properties, an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
NBC Sports
03-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
How to watch the 2025 Santa Anita Derby: TV, live stream info for Saturday's race
Drew Dinsick analyzes the results of the Florida Derby, explaining why Tappan Street and Sovereignty are horses to eye in exotic Kentucky Derby wagers. The 2025 Santa Anita Derby takes place this Saturday, April 5, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Live coverage begins at 7 PM ET on CNBC and Peacock. Since only five horses are entered in the race, only 75 percent of the 200 possible Kentucky Derby points are set to be awarded on a 75 / 37.50 / 18.75 / 11.25 / 7.5 scale. If a horse scratches and only four run, then points will be awarded on a 50 / 25 / 12.5 / 7.5 scale. Click here Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has two horses entered in Saturday's race: Citizen Bull, the reigning 2-year-old Champion, and Barnes. Citizen Bull has secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby field with 60 points, but Barnes will need to finish in the top two to qualify. Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, looks to secure another win at Santa Anita. The $825k auction purchase is considered the Kentucky Derby favorite after defeating Barnes in the G2 San Felipe last month. The 2025 Kentucky Derby takes place on May 3. See below to find out how to watch the 2025 Santa Anita Derby, as well as additional information on how you can stream all of the exciting horse racing events on Peacock. Click here to sign up for Peacock! Al Bernstein, How to watch the 2025 Santa Anita Derby: When: Saturday, April 5 Time: 7:00 PM ET TV: CNBC Live Stream: Peacock Where is the 2025 Santa Anita Derby? The 2025 Santa Anita Derby will take place Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Click here for the most up-to-date list of entries. Who won the 2024 Santa Anita Derby? Stronghold won last year's race, finishing in 1:49.98. Watch the recap of last year's victory below: Stronghold prevails to win 2024 Santa Anita Derby: When is the Kentucky Derby? When: Saturday, May 3 Where: Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY Time: Live coverage begins at 12 PM ET TV: USA Network, NBC Mary Omatiga, How can I watch horse racing on Peacock? Sign up to watch all of our live sports and events, including horse racing. What devices does Peacock support? You can enjoy Peacock on a variety of devices. View the full list of supported devices here. Stronghold and Imagination pull away in the final furlong but it's Stronghold who is able to hold off Imagination to win the 2024 Santa Anita Derby.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada Bitcoin Miner Acquiring Two Pennsylvania Coal Plants
A Canada-based crypto mining company is acquiring two Pennsylvania coal-fired power plants as part of its purchase of a digital mining group. Bitfarms Ltd. is set to buy Stronghold Digital Mining in a deal expected to close this month. Stronghold's shareholders approved the sale earlier this year. Stronghold owns the 85-MW Scrubgrass waste coal power plant in Venango County, and the 80-MW Panther Creek waste coal facility in Carbon County. Bitfarms is expected to use electricity from the coal-fired stations to power its energy-intensive bitcoin mining operations. Bitfarms already has a presence in Pennsylvania, having purchased a data center in Mercer County last year. The deal also could hold value for Bitfarms since it would enable the company to sell power to wholesale markets in the PJM territory. Officials with PJM, the regional grid operator, have expressed concerns about having enough power to meet increased demand in their 13-state territory from data centers, new manufacturing plants, and electrification initiatives. PJM and Pennsylvania Gob. Josh Shapiro recently settled a lawsuit over PJM's capacity market pricing. PJM has acknowledged a capacity shortage could affect its system as early as the 2026/2027 delivery year. More than 54 GW of power generation capacity was retired in PJM from 2011 to 2023, according to a report from Monitoring Analytics, the grid operator's market monitor. PJM officials also have asked power plant operators to delay the retirement of some facilities providing baseload power. PJM in a recent presentation said several power projects have interconnection agreements with the grid operator, but many of the facilities are not being built due to local opposition, problems securing equipment or financing, or permitting issues. Toronto, Ontario-based Bitfarms as part of the deal said the Scrubgrass and Panther Creek bitcoin mining sites could be expanded to supply up to 955 MW of electricity by adding additional transmission capacity. Public documents related to the Bitfarms-Stronghold deal show that Stronghold was considering a sale of the company at least since 2021. The documents said more than a dozen groups looked into buying Stronghold, but did not want to purchase the two power plants. The documents showed that Bitfarms initially was only interested in Stronghold's mining assets, offering $120 million for the bitcoin miners. It eventually increased its offer to buy the whole of Stronghold in an all-stock deal with an enterprise value of $175 million. An investor presentation from Bitfarms noted, 'Pennsylvania is a conservative business friendly jurisdiction with a notably pro-Bitcoin & pro-energy Democratic Governor [Shapiro].' The company also noted that the Scrubgrass and Panther Creek power plants are near major metropolitan areas and important fiber infrastructure to facilitate data transmission. Bitfarms has said it expects to build data centers alongside the existing power plants, with electricity from the plants serving the data center sites. The company also said that existing grid connections at each site have the 'potential to double megawatts available for mining operations." Bitfarms also wrote that it plans to make its mining assets available as a demand response resource for the power grid. 'Participation in these programs is the first step in a broader energy arbitrage strategy that we will be developing in the coming months across our PJM portfolio,' Alex Brammer, Bitfarms' senior vice president of global mining operations, said in a statement. —Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
