The Marthas Vineyard estate where Barack Obama summered for $50K/week has listed for $39M

A sprawling Martha’s Vineyard estate that served as a summer haven for former President Barack Obama and his family from 2009 to 2011 is now listed for $39 million.Known as Blue Heron Farm, the 30-acre property in Chilmark belongs to the family of celebrated British architect Norman Foster, whose firm, Foster + Partners, is behind iconic structures like London’s Gherkin and the reimagined Wembley Stadium, according to the Wall Street Journal.The Fosters acquired the estate in 2011 for $22.4 million and have since transformed it with significant upgrades.The property, nestled in the heart of the island, boasts an eight-bedroom 7,000-square-foot main residence, a classic New England clapboard home with a wraparound porch and a five-bedroom guesthouse clad in cedar shingles.The Obamas reportedly rented the home for a whopping $50,000 per week at the time.Recent enhancements include a new pool and pool house, alongside extensive landscaping with tree-lined avenues.

“A beautiful approach through a long avenue lined by trees to arrive at a classic New England house that had grown from historic farming roots,” Foster said in a written statement to The Journal, describing what drew his family to the estate.He added that it offered a “feeling of space, freedom and isolation — although located conveniently in the heart of the island.”Foster, who founded his namesake firm and is currently designing a new stadium for Manchester United, purchased the property from Mississippi couple Mollie and William Van Devender.During the Obamas’ tenancy, the estate became a high-profile summer retreat, and Foster recounted a lighthearted encounter with the former president after the purchase.“He met the president following his family’s purchase at a neighbor’s home and Obama suggested they rent it back to his family, exerting a kind of ‘jokey pressure’ on the architect,” Foster told the New Yorker earlier this year.

He declined the request.A spokesperson for the...