The 8,500-square foot home sat empty in Piscataway for several years until it was sold last August. Watch video
(Editor's Note: This story has been reprinted from Aug. 20, 2014.)
PISCATAWAY -- The custom-built house that former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano had built near the football stadium is finally off the market, closing on Tuesday at a record $1.35 million sale price, according to the real estate agent who brokered the transaction.
Michael Santini of Golden Key Reality said it's believed to be the highest sale price for a residential listing in Piscataway.
"That's another first for Coach Schiano,'' said Santini, who listed the 8,500-square-foot-house located at 38 Logan Lane in Piscataway not long after Schiano left Rutgers to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Reached on his cell phone Wednesday afternoon, Schiano confirmed the sale of his home but declined to provide further details or be interviewed on other topics.
Santini said the property, which sat on the market for more than 2 1/2 years, "was the most challenging and most rewarding house'' he's sold in his 38 years in real estate.
"It was an absolute pleasure,'' Santini said, "to work for Greg and his wife and the buyer.''
Schiano spent 11 seasons at Rutgers, where he turned a struggling program into a perennial bowl contender before making a leap to the NFL. The Buccaneers fired Schiano last December after he compiled a 11-21 record in two seasons.
Since then, rumors have swirled that if Rutgers was to make a coaching change after this season, Schiano would be near the top of the list of candidates to replace Kyle Flood.
The property owned by former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is now off the market. The university Board of Governors voted to sell Schiano the wooded 0.85-acre parcel of land amid calls for public debate, since it was once part of 350 acres of land that Rutgers had protected from development for ecological reasons.
At the time, Schiano said his goal was to move his family to a house that was both near the football stadium and large enough to entertain people associated with the program.
Located less than a mile in driving distance from High Point Solutions Stadium, the house is set on a cul-de-sac surrounded by homes valued at around $300,000. Couple that with an annual property tax bill exceeding $24,000 and Santini didn't have an easy chore selling the home.
"Greg had the house custom built for his family,'' said Santini, who has served as the real estate agent for several Rutgers coaches, including Flood, now in his third season as Scarlet Knights head coach.
"It's designed as a family retreat,'' Santini said. "That is a home you'd see in Martha's Vineyard, not the kind of home you're accustomed to seeing in that neighborhood. Houses in that neighborhood typically sell for between $700,000 and $900,000 at most so the fact that we were able to get over a million for it, certainly people in that neighborhood should appreciate it.''
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The listing described the home as having an "open floor plan ... meticulously designed with comfort and easy living in mind.'' The house features a mahogany-paneled office, a gourmet kitchen with two refrigerators, an exercise room with mirrored walls, a heated pool with a waterfall, a rubberized floor and a steam shower, and a 42-by-30-foot media and game room.
"We probably had 30 potential buyers over the course of how many years,'' Santini said. "I talked with him periodically, just to give him an update on how things were progressing. He's such a good guy -- I haven't been feeling well in recent years and he'd check in and say, 'Mike, you know I'm praying for you and if there's anything you need.' ''
Initially listed at $2.3 million, the house was reduced to $2.15 million in September 2012 and then to $1.95 million later that year. Its final listing price was $1.595 million, Santini said.
While Santini declined to provide details on the new property owners, he said: "They're a nice couple that appreciated the quality of the house. It's going to be their primary residence, and they were an absolutely pleasure to work with.''
A Rutgers football season ticket holder, Santini, 57, said he routinely handled the up-keep on the house, making sure to run the pool and ensuring that the subcontractors maintained the property.
"I was just saying to my secretary, 'What am I going to do with my time now?' '' Santini said. "He's a terrific man, a terrific coach, and a great family man. In my book, I'm 57 and I've been following Rutgers for years. What Schiano and (former AD Bob) Mulcahy did for that program can't be overstated.
"I call it 'the house that Schiano built,' '' Santini said, referring to Rutgers' football stadium -- not the Logan Lane property.
Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
