It’s rare to come across improved land where the long, often unglamorous work of preparing to build has already been done. Fourteen surveyed acres of mature and wonderfully wild timber situate Shandelee Forest at the base of the Catskill Park. This dreamscape is threaded with historic walking paths, rock formations, fern fields, and set in the wooded hills just outside Livingston Manor. The engineer-approved homesite has been cleared, with a new private road cut in and electric run to the driveway. A new well and new septic system suitable for a four bedroom home are already installed. Architectural plans by Material Design Build, drawn specifically for the site, accompany the land, making this a starting point, or a finished one, depending on your desires.

Livingston Manor is one of the most quietly coveted villages in the Western Catskills, with a few walkable blocks that hold design shops, cafes, a charming general store, toy store, gear shop, wine bar, even a world-class art gallery and more. The Beaverkill and the Willowemoc rivers, widely considered the birthplace of American fly fishing, flank the town. The property sits in the forested hills just minutes beyond town, close enough to pop down for coffee, far enough that the only sound at night is the forest. Two and a half hours from the George Washington Bridge places it firmly within weekend reach of New York City, while remaining unmistakably its own magical corner of the world.