Project Story

In 2016, Dawn and David Solomon acquired the 18-acre property on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River in Briarcliff, NY. The property has a long history going back to 1867 when a Greek revival house circa 1827 was moved to site from Sleepy Hollow, just to the south. The property was given the name of Ashridge in the 19th century, named after large ash trees on the property. A famous resident of the property was Clara Whiting, who hosted guests in a cottage on the property including President Hoover and Doctor Seuss. Her furnishings from the house are now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The house was later used in the film American Gangster starring Denzel Washington. The Solomon's decided to make this property a model for a renewable and sustainable lifestyle, to do their part to mitigate climate change and reflect their love for the environment. They installed a 94 KW solar array to generate enough electrical power to accommodate their own use with excess capacity. They built a large organic garden for vegetables and flowers. They are installing an underground cistern to capture rain water to supply 100% of their irrigation needs. Over 25 apple and pear trees will produce fruit, using only organic methods. They have planted over 50 trees to supplement the mature forests on the property and will be planting more over time. Future plans include planting native flowers and meadows to support a bee colony on the property. The solar array is a ground-mount system installed by Sunrise Solar, and will produce over 125,000 kWh of energy per year. It is installed on an acre of land below the pond with full sun all day. Its location minimizes its visibility, and landscaping has been installed to further shield visibility from all sides. *For the privacy of the owner, the indicator on the map is not an exact location of the project*