National Treasure?
A Traditional Mansion on a Piece of Mount Vernon
In Alexandria, Va., this newly built home sits on a property that was once part of President George Washington’s original estate.
By Sept. 30, 2020 1:21 pm ET
An Alexandria, Va., mansion owned by the former chief executive of Lockheed Martin is coming on the market for $60 million.
Mount Vernon, a National Historic Landmark, is well-known as the longtime home of President Washington and his wife Martha Washington, who expanded the property to include numerous farms. This portion of the property stayed in President Washington’s family until 1859; since then there have been four owners, Sotheby’s said.
The current owners are Robert Stevens and Michelle Stevens. Mr. Stevens is the former chairman and chief executive of Lockheed Martin, the global defense contractor. The couple bought the estate in 2014 for $18.6 million from Gerald “Jerry” Halpin, the developer of Tysons Corner, one of the busiest commercial districts in the country, records show.
Known as River View Estate, the bright white American Federal-style home runs parallel to the river, with water views from almost every room.
Newly built, the main house has about 16,000 square feet across its four levels with seven bedrooms, a series of large terraces, an elaborate wood paneled library, a game room and a home office. At one end of the property, a circular glass room juts out, providing 180-degree views of the gardens and river. There is also a three-bedroom guesthouse and a carriage house with a studio apartment on the estate.
The gardens have been redone with traditional English boxwood hedges and pergolas from old blueprints the owners found of the property, according to the listing agent Heather Corey.
The owners demolished a previous home on the property and spent close to five years and tens of millions of dollars designing and constructing a new home and doing infrastructure work at the site, Ms. Corey said. They moved into the home in the fall of 2018.
Ms. Corey declined to comment on why the Stevenses are selling the estate, but said they are passionate about renovation projects and were attracted to the property in part because they are “history buffs.” The couple declined to comment.
Mr. Stevens was chief executive of Lockheed Martin from August 2004 through December 2012, according to the company’s website. He previously served on President George W. Bush ’s Commission to Examine the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, and was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2012.