One of Bucks County’s most well-known mansions will soon undergo a makeover in an attempt to save the property as a whole. Bo Koltnow wrote about the estate for WFMZ 69 News.

Cintra Mansion in New Hope is currently cracked and crumbling, but there is hope for its future. The building’s current state is a devastating sight for historian Roy Ziegler.

“It’s not just the house itself, but the history behind it,” he said.

The mansion was built by industrialist William Maris in the early 1800s. Named after palace-rich Sintra Portugal, the home was featured in an edition of the American Magazine of Art from 1917.

That is, ironically, when the beginning of the mansion’s end began.

According to Bob Hillier, the world-renowned Princeton-based architect who has owned the property for a decade, Cintra’s sandstone is porous and it eventually crumbles when wet.

To save the historic home, it will be razed and replicated in the exact detail as the original back when it was first built.

“And what is standing there today is a long way from what was the original,” said Hillier.

Some materials can be saved and used in the reconstruction. The new building will be a duplex. It will feature four outbuildings as apartments as well as 23 new condominiums.

Read more about Cintra Mansion in WFMZ 69 News.