Hamptons Cheat Sheet: Multiple multimillion dollar listings hit one Southampton street, “Smiley” hotel to undergo total revamp … & more

UPDATED, 4 p.m., May 17:

Southampton’s Gin Lane sees a flurry of multi-million dollar listings

Tonic may not be included. A week after a $145 million property on Gin Lane came up for sale, two other homes on the street are hitting the market. The 9,000-square-foot manse at 237 Gin Lane, featuring nine bedrooms, 9.5 bathrooms and a pool, is listed for $17 million. Down the road, 281 Gin Lane asks $15.75 million for a 7,000-square-foot home with nine bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms and a pool. And another home on the street was just sold: 328 Gin Lane. Listed for $32 million in September 2016, the property just sold for $31 million. The seller, late car manufacturer John Poster, bought the 2,500-square-foot, four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home for $175,000 in 1984. The modest home sits on 2.6 acres, with 199 feet of beach frontage. [27E]

Hamptons home buyers have a strong preference for new builds: panel

Even a 10-year-old home is too old for some buyers. Experts at a Southampton real estate panel last week agreed that if there’s one trend in the Hamptons right now, it’s that new houses are selling like hot cakes. “The dramatic shift has been the availability of newer construction,” said Corcoran’s Gary DePersia. “Even a house built in the late ’90s or mid-2000s can feel dated to a buyer. People want their own homes.” Builder Joe Farrell of Farrell Building Company agreed, saying it’s much easier now to sell new houses. The panelists also acknowledged the slight market downturn toward the end of last year. The lowered numbers can attributed to buyers “paralyzed by politics,” according to Town & Country CEO Judi Desiderio. [27E]

Owners of former Oceanside Beach Motel have big plans

The “Smiley Motel,” as it’s known by locals, may soon get a face lift. The new owners of the former Oceanside Beach Motel, known for the signature giant smiley face on its east side, want to redevelop the property into a drastically different resort, 27East reported. The project is led by restaurateur Jon Krasner and financier Teddy Wasserman.  Together, they proposed gutting the entire easternmost building to reduce the number of rooms from 34 to 30. They plan to build wraparound decking, as well as a “wet retail” space that will offer food and drink. [27E]

East Hampton’s historic “Congress Hall” sells for $3.6 million.

One of the oldest structures in East Hampton sold this week for $3.6 million, 27East reported. Built in 1680, the structure at 177 Main Street gained prominence in the 1800s because it became the venue of informal town congregations. Renovated in 2015, the home now spans 5,500-square feet with 5 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. [27E]

Paul Manafort got a fishy loan for a Hamptons house: report

Trump’s ex-campaign manager appears to owe $36,000 in taxes on a Bridgehampton home. Paul Manafort allegedly took out a $3.5 million bridge loan on the property, and mortgage documents were not filed by the lender, S3, a subsidiary of Spruce Capital Partners. This Hamptons home is under scrutiny as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman takes a “preliminary look” at Manafort’s finances at large, according to the New York Daily News. In December, The Real Deal broke the news that Manafort was an investor in several now under-water spec home projects in Los Angeles, spearheaded by his son-in-law. [NYDN]

An earlier version of this misstated the sales price of 328 Gin Lane to be $24.5 million. It was $31 million, according to listing brokerage Sotheby’s International Realty