Riverdale Mansion on JFK's Childhood Home Site Returns at $5.85M

5040 Independence Avenue in Riverdale, the Bronx, has returned to the market with a $500,000 price cut, now asking $5,850,000. The address carries more historical weight than most listings: it is where John F. Kennedy’s childhood home once stood, before his family left Boston for New York and enrolled him at the nearby Riverdale Country School. Douglas Elliman’s Erin Boisson Aries and Dustin Crouse hold the listing.

All Photos Courtesy of Rinze Van Brug

The nearly 17,620-square-foot mansion that occupies the site today, built and expanded in phases since the 1990s, takes its architectural cues from the spiraling geometry of the Guggenheim Museum, anchored by a triple-height atrium and rotunda centerpiece that floods the home with light. Nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two powder rooms are spread across three floors, with a 7,500-square-foot basement that still retains a foundation wall from the original 1907 house. Outside, 4,500 square feet of terraced outdoor space overlooks the Hudson River Valley, and the property also includes a separate two-story, 2,000-square-foot cottage with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and its own two-car garage. A formal dining room, library, media room, multiple entertaining salons and a 10-car garage round out the offering.

Set on more than 1.2 acres directly above Wave Hill Gardens, the estate traces its Kennedy connection to the 1920s, when Joseph and Rose Kennedy raised their family here while building ties to New York’s financial and social circles. The Sills family altered the original house after buying it in 1959, and the current owners demolished what remained after acquiring the property in 1991, rebuilding it in stages over the past three decades. The home will be delivered with a temporary certificate of occupancy, and its Riverdale setting offers easy access to Van Cortlandt Park and the Riverdale Yacht Club, along with a commute to Midtown Manhattan of under 30 minutes by car.

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