Renovation is a slow burn. For multi award-winning actor Emma Stone and comedy-writer and producer Dave McCary, that burn lasted four years—long enough for the pair to carve deeper roots in New York, long enough for a project once intimate to become impossibly remote. The couple’s unfinished Austin sanctuary is now on the market at $26.5 million, offering a new steward the rare chance to direct its dazzling finale.
The address is 2109 Rockmoor Avenue, a leafy corner of Tarrytown where magnolia leaves blanket the streets and celebrity sightings prompt more knowing nods than star-struck squeals. Privacy, yes, but conversely a sense of quiet community. Streets remain walkable. Schools rank highly. Lake Austin sits minutes away for a paddle or a dusk cruise.
In that context, a discreet iron gate and a brick drive feel less like luxury than necessary etiquette. That said, listing agent Eric Moreland notes the walled, 1.24-acre parcel is a rare pocket of private breathing-room—hard to come by in Tarrytown and harder still across Austin.
Stone and McCary bought the 1940s manor in 2021, seeing potential in its dignified brick and the guardian oaks that flank the plot. They then set about coaxing it into the 21st century without silencing its past. Brick in the Georgian-style façade was removed, cleaned and re-used, a meticulous process that allowed steel skeletons and poured concrete to slip behind the home’s historic skin. Glass walls followed, pulling Hill Country sunlight deep into rooms that had once squeezed rays in through small windows. Eighty percent of the work is finished, according to Moreland. The remaining finishing touches are set to wrap by summer.
Inside, craftsmanship channels old-world flourish. Herringbone oak clashes playfully with reclaimed brick, a syncopated conversation in wood and clay. Fireplaces and countertops wear thick, cream-toned marble. Leaded-glass panes peek through arched openings, winking at the past. Heritage, rewritten. “The goal from day one was to craft a modern estate that still feels anchored to Tarrytown,” notes Moreland, who shares the listing with fellow Moreland Properties agent Diane Humphreys. “Rooted in tradition yet forward-thinking in design and livability.”
Structural bones aside, architects Cuppett Kilpatrick preserved the original footprint where they could, bending additions around venerable oaks. Outdoor rooms unfurl beside their canopy—terraces for twilight suppers, a future pool deck pitched toward the lake breeze. Nearby, an auxiliary two-bedroom cottage seals the estate status.
Fitting for an actor, the house hides a cinematic lair. Walnut-clad cabinetry conceals secret doors, a full bar waits in the wings, and double insulation teams with acoustic fabric overhead to uncork genuine theater hush. Elsewhere, a glass-wrapped solarium absorbs the day’s full rays, while a wood-paneled library keeps counsel.
Historic homes like 2109 Rockmoor Avenue can be found in steady supply across Austin, yet the city’s future-leaning ethos spills into its rooftops, where new construction steers much of the market’s current momentum. Still, discerning buyers are in search of soul without inheriting every squeaky joist. Rockmoor Avenue threads that needle.
Of course, craft never comes cheap. But, according to Moreland, starting over from scratch would cost more than money—it would cost narrative. “In today’s market, new construction feels prescriptive and often like a sterile blank canvas. A project like this offers a refreshing and completely elevated residence without starting from scratch.”
Moreland Properties is a member of Forbes Global Properties, an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
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