By Gretchen A. Peck

Nestled among woodlands in Mystic, Connecticut, a four-bedroom modern colonial at 674 Cow Hill Road is now for sale. Ryan Lynch, a Realtor with Compass Connecticut’s Mystic brokerage, is the seller’s agent.

John Scott and Rafael Burgos had the house custom-built in 2006. Their builder introduced them to the location on Cow Hill Road and to the wooded 3.50 acres up for sale. It proved the perfect setting for their dream home—a blend of privacy, natural beauty, plenty of land to build as much square footage as they needed, and close proximity to places of convenience and interest nearby.

“It’s kind of a neat lot,” Scott explained to Welcome Home. “It’s three-and-a-half acres of land that sits up high at the peak of a hill. The hill runs down to Haleys Brook, which has some interesting local history about it. There’s an old dam down there, and people who live in the area often talk about how they used to go fishing down where the water pools there. Back in the day, that dam was used to power a machine used to wind ropes for sailboats.”

The first floor originally had a foyer, living room, dining room, family room, kitchen and a powder room. Not long ago, they freshened the kitchen with a new slate gray finish on the cabinets. They contrast well with granite countertops. It’s equipped with a Thermador-brand oven and gas range, a KitchenAid warming drawer, a wine refrigerator, dishwasher and a new LG refrigerator.

Over time, they appended the house with a sunroom and installed a whole-house generator.

Considering the house was only built in the mid-2000s, the owners haven’t had to make many improvements. However, they did renovate the primary bedroom suite’s bathroom. “We gutted it down to the four outside walls and put in a new shower stall, with three body jets, a regular shower spray, a handheld sprayer and a rainfall showerhead from the ceiling. It has beautiful white-and-gray tile work, new bathroom cabinets and farmhouse-style sinks,” Scott noted.

They also added the pool and extended the patio to wrap around it.

The outdoor living space proved invaluable during the pandemic—a place they could host friends and family, responsibly socially distanced outdoors.

“I’ve very glad that post-Covid it’s been a great outdoor entertaining space. We have family gatherings there all the time,” he said.

Having plenty of storage space was important to the owners when they built and added on to the home. Next to the pool, they added a large shed, with all the pool mechanicals cleverly tucked away behind it. The interior accommodates lawn and garden equipment, outdoor furnishings and pool toys when they’re not in use.

The garage is also intentionally oversized. “We built a mezzanine in the garage, so there’s extra storage above and in front of the cars,” Scott said.

The owner also remarked on the home’s location: “We’re five minutes away from downtown Mystic. If a buyer is active, they might like to bike, walk or run along River Road, which runs from downtown all the river. That’s a beautiful walk year-round. We’re also convenient to the highway, so if someone is working for Pfizer or EB, it’s a quick run to those offices. And it’s only 10 minutes by back roads to Foxwoods and maybe 20 minutes to Mohegan Sun.”

A wealth of renowned restaurants and several marinas are also within close reach. “If someone with a boat buys our home, they can keep it trailered on the big gravel parking area and travel to a number of boat launches that aren’t that far away,” Scott said.

The sellers are asking $1.2 million for the property. The listing agent, Ryan Lynch, welcomed qualified buyers to watch for an open house in early September or to schedule a private showing at their convenience.

Property: 674 Cow Hill Rd., Mystic

Bedrooms: 4

Baths: 3

Square Footage: 3,892

Acreage: 3.50

Asking Price: $1.2 million

Listing Agent: Ryan Lynch, Compass Connecticut, Mystic brokerage; Mobile: (860) 383-9888; ryan.lynch@compass.com