On the Market Near the Poconos: Contemporary Compound in Upper Mt. Bethel

Not too big, not too small, not too fancy, not too plain: in short, this beautiful contemporary house is just Wright. It’s located at 1420 Riverton Rd., Upper Mt. Bethel Township, Pa. 18013 | Greater Lehigh Valley MLS images via BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors

Still looking for a socially distanced vacation retreat?

It doesn’t get much more socially distant than this gorgeous Upper Mt. Bethel contemporary house for sale. That’s because it sits on a 135-acre tract of land high above the Delaware River valley, roughly midway between Belvidere and Stone Church in Northampton County.

As the photo above should make clear, this 23-year-old contemporary house definitely has the Wright stuff: its design was heavily influenced by the early Prairie Style houses created by America’s greatest architect. But you can also see plenty of links to later Wright houses built from the 1930s to the late 1950s.

Aerial view of house

This house is interesting in that it is basically a one-floor structure, yet it has multiple levels. The reason? It’s actually a series of pavilions connected by hallways and stairs on a sloping lot. Together they create a house that has everything you might want in a vacation home — or a year-round residence, for that matter.

Main living area

The central pavilion is slightly elevated above the two that flank it. It contains a totally open main living area.

Dining area; French doors at right lead to the foyer

In addition to having a distinctive brick fireplace on the living-room side, it has a very large and well-equipped restaurant-quality kitchen in one corner.

Kitchen

Ringed by peninsular counters, it has a center island, three sinks and a salamander above its six-burner gas range.

Primary bedroom

The primary bedroom occupies the pavilion next to the living-room side of the main one. Like the main pavilion, it has a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows facing the backyard, which in turn faces the Delaware.

Primary bedroom deck and view towards the river

Sliding glass doors connect the bedroom to a deck with a great view of the river. The view is slightly better from the raised deck next to the main pavilion, but the difference is so small as not to quibble over it. The pavilion next to the dining-room side contains a second bedroom and deck.

Study and den

Interior stairs lead from the main pavilion to a den and study located over the attached garage. Because the lot slopes upward sharply from the garage, this room also has an outdoor patio beyond its sliding glass doors.

Home office

A separate corridor runs past an interior courtyard up a set of steps to the pavilion containing the house’s two other bedrooms and a second home office with yet another deck.

Wine cellar

The house also has a basement where you will find an exercise room and a temperature-controlled wine cellar that can store more than 3,000 bottles.

Pool

Just beyond the second bedroom, you’ll find an in-ground pool. You will also find tennis and bocce courts on the grounds.

Loft garage

If you’re a car collector, you will appreciate the separate, 2,800-square-foot loft garage with car lift on this property. If you aren’t, you could use this space for an art or yoga studio or some other creative purpose. Other outbuildings include three barns, one big, two small.

And because this house sits on a 135-acre lot, there are many other things you could do here: Plant a vineyard. Grow vegetables. Raise small animals. Operate a bed-and-breakfast. Turn the big barn into an event space. Or maybe run the whole thing as an event venue while living somewhere else.

But given how nice this place is, why would you want to live somewhere else?

While this Upper Mt. Bethel contemporary house for sale is in Northampton County, it lies close to its northeast corner, about equidistant from Easton and Stroudsburg but closer to I-80 than to I-78; there’s an interchange with I-80 at Columbia, N.J., about five minutes up Route 611 from here. That puts it within a short drive of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and there are county parks and other preserved open space even closer.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 4

BATHS: 3

SQUARE FEET: 5,255

SALE PRICE: $2,249,000

OTHER STUFF: Speaking of preserved open space, this property is protected by an Act 319 conservation easement. Its sale price was reduced by $251,000 on January 28th.

1420 Riverton Rd., Upper Mt. Bethel Township, Pa. 18013 [Debra Protchko and Rebecca Francis | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]