As cofounder of the Friendly’s chain, S. Prestley Blake has already left a big legacy for New England ice cream fans.
But the Thomas Jefferson aficionado has another legacy on his mind these days: his carefully rebuilt replica of Monticello, Jefferson’s iconic, 18th-century Virginia home.
Now, the nearly $8 million project that Blake refers to as his “swan song’’ is on the auction block.
Blake hired Laplante Construction Inc. of East Longmeadow to build the 10,000-square-foot home in time for his 100th birthday nearly two years ago. Blake had bought the Somers, Conn., property from members of the family behind the Big Y Foods supermarket chain, the D’Amours. Blake lives nearby but never intended to actually move into his own Monticello.
William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty first listed the home at $6.5 million, back in the fall of 2014. Last year, the broker dropped the listing price to $4.9 million. Still, Blake hasn’t found a buyer. So New York’s Concierge Auctions plans to auction off the property on May 31, with no minimum bid required.
There are plenty of advertised features to this five-bedroom mansion, aside from the Jeffersonian exterior, that can make it attractive to the right buyer: geothermal heating, a chef-grade gourmet kitchen, a three-car garage with a sun deck on top, and three spots on the property accessible by helicopter.
Jack Hoyt, project sales manager for Concierge, says Blake knew he wasn’t going to make money on the project.
It’s hard to find comparable sales in Somers for multimillion-dollar homes, let alone ones with a dome roof and an exterior made from handmade bricks from Virginia. Hoyt says that’s why Blake is taking the auction route now.
“He built it to sell [but] the construction of it doesn’t really conform to the typical conventions of real estate developments,’’ Hoyt said. “He wanted something that would live on longer than he would.’’ — JON CHESTO
Behind the sofa billboards
What’s up with those “sofa king’’ billboards?
Boston-area commuters may have noticed some quirky highway signs pop up this month, promoting couches at furniture store chain Bernie & Phyl’s. They each feature a cryptic slogan: “sofa king affordable,’’ “sofa king stylish,’’ or “sofa king comfortable.’’
Looks nonsensical — until you read it aloud. Yes, it’s the latest handiwork from New York ad agency DeVito/Verdi.
Ellis Verdi, co-owner of the agency, says the only debate in his shop was over whether there should be a comma after “king’’ on the signs, not whether the signs were offensive.
That irreverence will be on display again on Tuesday, when the agency’s new Legal Sea Foods ads debut. There’s ominous piano music, and a somber narrator reads what sounds like an obituary, describing how some salt-of-the earth person died just before something wonderful was about to happen to them, like winning the lottery. The punch line: If only the person ate more fish, he or she might have lived just a little bit longer.
Verdi says his agency, a veteran of Legal ad campaigns, also wanted to find a light-hearted way to promote seafood’s health benefits.
“The last thing you want to hear is some health message from a fish store,’’ Verdi said. “I could live longer without that but I could live a lot longer with a little sense of humor.’’
Legal Sea Foods chief Roger Berkowitz first hired DeVito/Verdi nearly a decade ago, after his firm received a cold-call from someone at the agency.. — JON CHESTO
Innovation at the chamber
The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce knows it has a reputation as a haven for old white guys, and it’s trying to change that. Its latest image-altering strategy: hiring Justin Kang, founder of the millennial-run Boston nonprofit City Awake, as its new “director of social innovation.’’
The move is intended to infuse the chamber with younger blood, an effort already underway with its recent creation of a Young Professionals Network, and better understand the millennial mindset.
“Young professionals are looking for both income and impact in their careers, and that’s the City Awake model,’’ said chamber president Jim Rooney. By partnering up, the chamber hopes to “enhance our value proposition for young professionals.’’
Operating City Awake as a program of the chamber, Kang will encourage chamber members to find for-profit ways to tackle social problems. Models for that, he said, include Bain Capital’s hiring former governor Deval Patrick to run its new “Double Impact’’ business, which invests in companies that have a positive impact on society, and ArtLifting, a Boston firm that sells artwork made by homeless and disabled people.
“We want companies not to consider social innovation a fad or a trend,’’ Kang said, “but an important part of their business or product line.’’ — SACHA PFEIFFER
Jill Biden’s moon shot visit
During their final year in office, President Obama assigned his veep, Joe Biden, to oversee a huge effort: to end cancer as we know it. On Tuesday, the vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, will be in Boston as part of that “moon shot’’ to accelerate cancer research and treatment.
Biden will pay a visit to Cambridge-based PatientsLikeMe, a company that runs a social network for people living with disease, including cancer. In the evening, she will speak at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center’s annual gala.
Cancer is a deeply personal subject for the Bidens, whose son, Beau, died last year after battling brain cancer.
At PatientsLikeMe, Jill Biden will meet with executives and patients who have shared their experiences through the company’s online platform. PatientsLikeMe has more than 400,000 users, who can use the site to track their symptoms and treatments, and to connect with other patients.
Ben Heywood, cofounder and president of Kendall Square-based PatientsLikeMe, said he hopes the visit will help Biden understand the importance of involving patients in their health care.
Biden will also address the cancer center gala at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Other VIPs scheduled to attend include comedian Quincy Jones and Nate Solder, offensive lineman for the New England Patriots. — PRIYANKA DAYAL MCCLUSKEY
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