Helmut Lang’s East Hampton compound could fetch $100M, Esprit founder unloads Sag Harbor home & more East End real estate news

Helmut Lang could list East Hampton compound for $100M
Longtime Hamptons resident and Austrian-born fashion designer and artist Helmut Lang could be poised to list his oceanfront East Hampton home for a whopping $100 million, the New York Post reported. Brokers familiar with property told the outlet that it is being shopped as an “unofficial whisper listing.” The roughly 5-acre property located at or around 8 Tyson Lane includes an 8,757-square-foot main house, a cottage and a studio. Lang, who over the years has also purchased other East End homes, bought the estate for $15.5 million in 1999 after outbidding comedian Jerry Seinfeld for the property. The New York Times noted at the time that within 72 hours of its closing, earth movers were on Lang’s land transforming the formerly flat parcel into hillocks to resemble sand dunes. Lang rose to fame and made his fortune with a minimalist style and urban clothing design, but resigned from his eponymous fashion label in 2005 following its acquisition by Italian apparel and accessories maker Prada. [TRD]

Esprit founder sells one Sag Harbor home, seeks $13.5M for so-called Summer White House
A 3,500-square-foot Sag Harbor home that once belonged to Jürgen Friedrich, founder of the fashion brand Esprit, had its sale close at nearly $5 million, according to 27east. The home at 31 Howard Street initially hit the market last fall for $5.95 million. That price had dropped to an even $5 million by the time it went into contract in March, Curbed reported at the time. The final purchase price was $4.75 million, according to Zillow’s Out East site. Friedrich bought the home with his wife, Anke, for $1.35 million in 2014. The couple renovated the home, which was built in 1843, with a number of interior updates, as well as adding a pool in the backyard and a pool house. Today the home has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, two living rooms and a chef’s kitchen. Rima Mardoyan Smyth and Ryan Struble of Douglas Elliman represented the Friedrichs on the sale, along with Susan Breitenbach of the Corcoran Group. The Elliman duo and Breitenbach are also representing the Friedrich’s in the potential sale of another of their Sag Harbor properties at 20 Union Street, according to 6sqft. The 223-year-old property was allegedly once home to President Chester A. Arthur, who dubbed it the “Summer White House.” The renovated home hit the market in 2016 seeking $14.2 million, but late last year its price was slashed to $13.5 million. Out East shows that the home has been rented in July for $150,000. [27east]

Judith Leiber’s East Hampton home lists for nearly $4M
The East Hampton home that belonged to Judith and Gerson Leiber, a handbag designer and modernist painter, respectively, has been put on the market for $3.9 million a year after the couple died within hours of each other, The New York Times reported. The pair bought the property at 464 Old Stone Highway in 1956 for a mere $10,000, but then launched a decades-long building campaign that created a 4,500-square-foot main house, an 860-square-foot art studio and gardens that stretch over the remainder of its 2.16 acres. Brick pathways meander through the grounds to an in-ground pool, a vegetable garden, a rose garden and an empty aviary. The main house has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and three wood-burning fireplaces. The home was built in 1910, but renovated in the 1990s. The studio has towering ceilings, large windows to let in the light and an attached garage. The Times and Mansion Global note that the property is located in the East Hampton hamlet of Springs. Leslie Hillel and Judith Mendoza of Halstead have the listing. [NYT]

East End affordable housing developments get $1.8M
Suffolk County will give $1.8 million to two affordable housing projects in Amagansett and Greenport that will create 87 apartments, according to Long Island Business News. Georgica Green Ventures of Jericho and the East Hampton Housing Authority will build the 37-unit Gansett Meadow at 531 Montauk Highway. When complete, the $23 million project will offer 12 one-bedroom apartments, 12 two-bedroom apartments, 12 three-bedroom apartments and a single unit with four bedrooms. Gansett Meadow will get $1.1 million from the county along with funds from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (NYSHCR), the Community Preservation Corporation and the Middle Income Housing Program. The other development, the Vineyard View in Greenport, will get $700,000 from the county and cost about $22 million. When Rochester-based affordable housing builder Conifer Realty and the Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDCLI) complete that project, its seven two-story buildings will each hold a mix of units with up to three bedrooms. Half of those units will be for those making up to 50 percent of the median income in the area, while the other half will be for those making up to 60 percent. The Greenport project will also get funds from the CDCLI, NYSHCR, the Town of Southold and the Community Development Trust. [LIBN]

East Hampton extends Lazy Point leases for 35 years
The East Hampton Town Trustees voted to extend the leases on lots in Amagansett’s Lazy Point to 35 years, 27east reported. The trustees were swayed by arguments that such an extension would give the tenants more security and allow them to get loans for home improvements along with other purchases. This would also likely prolong tenants’ stay on the land, much of which is owned by trustees who benefit from the rent revenue. Up until now, the Lazy Point leases had been year-to-year, which made it hard for some tenants to obtain loans for property upgrades. Along with the extension, the sale or transfer of a lease to a new homeowner will not reset its clock, but rather keep them on the original term. The East Hampton Star reported that six trustees voted in favor of the measure, two abstained and one voted against it. One trustee, Rick Drew, reportedly abstained because his own Lazy Point lease was one due to expire. Another claimed to not fully understand the effects such a change might have on their board and the Lazy Point area, which is along Gardiner’s Bay, over time. “What is that shoreline going to look like in 10, 20, 35 years?” asked trustee Susan Vorpahl. “Do we want to promote people being tied to these long leases when maybe that landscape might drastically change?” Additionally, 17 residents of Lazy Point signed a petition objecting to the extensions. [27east]

Top hedge funder’s Southampton home build delayed again
Scott Shleifer, named one of the richest hedge fund managers of 2018 by Institutional Investor, has again had his efforts to build a home in Southampton delayed by the Southampton Village Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation, 27east reported. Shleifer paid $53 million in 2015 to buy and combine two adjacent properties, according to Newsday. He subsequently tore down a Tudor-style home on the oceanfront property at 28 Gin Lane, which Schleifer wants to replace with a 14,561-square-foot home, as well as a 5,055-square-foot guest house on an adjacent lot at 24 Gin Lane. Three members of the five-member board initially voted to approve the build in October 2017. But then neighbors William and Lynn Manger, Pamela Michaelcheck and Top O’Dune LLC filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse that decision. Many felt Shleifer’s planned homes, which were designed by Timothy Hayes, were out of character with the area. New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Pastoressa in Riverhead ruled that the board failed to consider the size of Shleifer’s proposed structures and that it needed to reconsider them. The board was supposed to deliver a written decision on April 8, but postponed the ruling because it wasn’t ready. The board did so again on April 23 for the same reason, but said the decision will be ready by their next meeting on May 13. Shleifer has run Tiger Global’s public equity business and will soon take over its private arm, Institutional Investor reported. [27east]

Interior designer lists Remsenburg estate, former ice house
Mariette Himes Gomez, an interior designer known as the “house whisperer” for her alleged ability to tap into the unique qualities of various properties, has listed her Remsenburg estate for $1.395 million, according to Newsday. The 1.35-acre property includes a 1790s Colonial cottage that serves as the main home, which has two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. The property at 96 South Country Road also includes a pair of one-bedroom cottages, an ice house that has been converted into a sauna hut, a detached garage and a hedged swimming pool. Newsday noted that Gomez has spent more than two decades renovating the property. Deirdre DeVita of Brown Harris Stevens has the listing. Bloomberg reported last year that Remsenburg is one of the cheapest places in the Hamptons to buy a home. [Newsday]