Hamptons Cheat Sheet: Sag Harbor won’t accept Billy Joel’s proposed renovations just the way they are, East Hampton zoning board weighs precedent-setting move … & more

Sag Harbor won’t accept Billy Joel’s proposed renovations just the way they are
The members of the Sag Harbor Architectural Review Board are no fans of Billy Joel’s proposal to renovate his Bay Street property. The Piano Man wants to elevate one building and combine it with another building to create one large residence. Board members, however, expressed concern that the renovated structure will be too large and will not reflect the character of the village. “Nobody on this board will be comfortable with that,” board chairman Anthony Brandt said, according to 27 East. [27 East]

East Hampton zoning board could set precedent with Springs teardown decision
The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals faces a quandary: if an older structure is torn down, should the new building be held to modern zoning regulations? A proposal to build a new home on a half acre plot on Isle of Wight Road in Springs could prove to be the test case. The owner wants to tear down the 1960s-era home and pool and build a 4,281-square-foot house and larger pool, the East Hampton Star reported. The plan needs a variance from the board to build closer to protected wetlands than modern code allows. The owner’s team argues the pre-existing structure is being modified, but some board members believe the property should be considered vacant once the older house is demolished. [East Hampton Star]

$6.78M Georgica home sold after only 4 months on the market
Only four months after going on the market, the one-acre property at 56 La Forest Lane in Georgica sold for $6.78 million — a bit below the $7.5 million asking price. The 3,500-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bathroom home was built in 1976, and the plot features a heated pool and privacy hedges. Sotheby’s International Realty agents Dana Trotter and Frank Newbold had the listing. [Curbed]

East Hampton senior community rebrands and relists
The development of a six-house East Hampton community for those older than 55 was announced three years ago, but the homes at Crystal Mews, as it was then called, had trouble selling. Now the property is being rebranded as Pantigo Pointe and will be marketed by Brown Harris Stevens. The community’s developer has added a hedge screen to protect the homes from neighboring Route 27, and at least one of home prices came down by $100,000 to $1.495 million. [Behind the Hedges]

Construction begins on first East Hampton affordable housing project in 10 years
Workers have begun preparing the Accabonac Road site that will become East Hampton’s first new affordable housing project in nearly 10 years. Three “manor house” buildings will contain 12 condominium apartments on the three-acre property, which was formerly the Accabonac Tennis Club, 27 East reported. The town purchased the plot in 2008, but the plan to build affordable housing has lagged since. The price for each condo is expected to be between $150,000 and $300,000, and officials hope the first residents can move in before next Thanksgiving. [27 East]

What the House GOP’s tax plan means for the Hamptons market
If one of the proposed Republican tax plans becomes law, it could kill a mortgage interest deduction on second homes. But no one in the Hamptons is sweating it. Expect owners of some vacation homes to reclassify them as investment properties, to be used as rentals, Bloomberg reported. Others will just get rid of their East End pads. “If you aren’t able to take advantage of the mortgage deduction for your second home, you’ll see more people putting their homes on the market and the inventory will grow,” Brown Harris Stevens agent Jessica von Hagn told Bloomberg. [TRD]