The grand waterfront estate with a pool, deep water dock and tennis court and owned by the late builder's estate is on the market
In 1959, Kevork Hovnanian started a home construction firm with his three brothers, each kicking in $1,000, and, initially specializing in inexpensive starter homes, townhouses and condos, built the Red Bank company into one of the largest homebuilders in the nation before his death in 2009.
For one of his own homes, Hovnanian chose a grand waterfront estate in Rumson, a 1904 Colonial with oversized rooms, a grass tennis court, a pool, a deep water dock and a riparian grant. The 8-bedroom home has been on and off the market since 2012, when it was listed for $5.9 million, and it reentered the market earlier this month for $3.88 million, according to Trulia.
Taxes are $69,139 a year.
But Hovnanian's main residence appears to be the home next door, which his widow Sirwart still owns, and which has also been on and off the market since 2011, according to Trulia. The home, with a dining room that can seat at least 24 people, was last listed for $8.9 million in 2014.
Both homes are along Ward Avenue, where the town's first large estates were built in the late 1800s following the opening the bridge to Sea Bright, which transformed Rumson from a farming community into a wealthy enclave of country estates, according to local historian Randall Gabrielan, who wrote "Rumson: Shaping a Superlative Suburb."
Hovnanian, who was of Armenian descent but who grew up in Iraq and ran a successful road-building business, fled the country with his family in 1959. He started the business out of a trailer in Toms River, and according to family lore, went out in his three-piece suit to clear the trees from his first subdivision himself.
Now led by Hovnanian's son Ara, the company's fortunes hit the rocks after the housing bubble burst, and despite the housing sector's recovery, has continued to struggle but is still one of the largest publicly-traded homebuilders in the country.
Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.