Land trust snags 100 acres in red-hot North Fork for “bargain”

Broad Cove will stay wild, thanks to an $11.5 million acquisition by Peconic Land Trust

Peconic Land Trust President John Halsey (Peconic Land Trust, Google Maps)
Peconic Land Trust President John Halsey (Peconic Land Trust, Google Maps)

Even more of the North Fork is now slated for conservation.

The Peconic Land Trust has purchased Broad Cove, a 100-acre waterfront parcel in Aquebogue, for $11.5 million. With the explosion in demand for North Fork and Hamptons homes, the unspoiled land has long been in the crosshairs of preservationists and developers alike.

The trust called the purchase a “bargain.” Its plans for the land include recreation, climate change resiliency and wildlife protection.

The seller was Andreas Weisz, whose grandfather purchased the property more than 30 years ago. “​​My grandfather always wanted to see the land preserved, what we called the duck farm. We see this as his legacy, his pride and joy,” said Weisz in a statement.

Pete Moore of the Corcoran Group and Laurence Oxman of East End Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer and seller, respectively.

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While Weisz will be fulfilling his grandfather’s wishes, conservation was not a given. Weisz turned down “significantly higher offers from several reputable national resort developers,” Oxman told Riverhead Local.

Plans for a mixed-use resort on the site had already been submitted to the Town of Riverhead, and the plot is zoned for tourism or a resort campus.

Broad Cove, next to Indian Island County Park, includes 8,000 feet of shoreline and 25 acres of tidal wetlands. It’s been on the state’s radar for protection since 1992, when the first Open Space Conservation Plan noted its preservation potential.

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A wave of redevelopment is bringing new high-end resorts to the largely agricultural North Fork, worrying some locals who associate such venues with the Hamptons. Even modest projects, such as a 10-home subdivision in Southold, can languish for years amid the politics of building in the low-key area.