Inside Shahab Karmely’s historic East Hampton mansion

Shahab Karmely says only a builder like himself would have taken on the massive rehabilitation of the Gardiner Estate, a historic 5-acre East Hampton spread.

“Even the billionaires and ‘money’s-no-object’ folks in the Hamptons would probably have been scared off by a project like this,” Karmely told the Financial Times. “I had a huge advantage because I’ve been building for decades.”

The five-bedroom, eight-and-a-half bathroom Renaissance-style mansion, built in the 1930s, was occupied by Robert David Lion Gardiner, a scion of the Long Island family that owned Gardiner’s Island on for nearly 400 years.

After Gardiner died in 2004 without a direct heir, the estate fell into disrepair until Karmely bought it in 2005 for $5 million.

“The place looked totally haunted; the grounds felt like a graveyard,” he told FT.

He subsequently invested at least another $10 million to bring it to its current lavish state. It took eight years to complete the project.

Karmely told the FT he reviewed original plans and photos in restoring much of the original estate. However, modern amenities, such as a new elevator, geothermal heating, a screening room and a 32-camera security system, were also added.

The project also included replacing the mansion’s shutters and French doors; the exterior walls were repainted in “period-specific” colors. A father-and-son team lived in a staff apartment above the garage for a year to install Venetian stucco and plaster moldings inside.

The interior walls are adorned with both classic artwork and NTFs, all of which is illuminated with custom lighting. Just a single wall was removed from the inside of the home, preserving its original look.

Outside, the estate includes a tennis court, swimming pool. The gardens were also updated significantly.

At one point, Karmely listed the estate for $29 million, but he pulled it back from the market.

He says he felt an obligation to preserve the history of the estate, which dates back to the 1600s. In 1835, the Gardiner family built a home on the parcel and it stood for over 100 years. A hurricane in 1938 damaged the structure, leading to the construction of the current villa.

Karmely is no stranger to big projects, particularly in New York and Florida.

He recently sold a waterfront site on the Miami River for nearly $59 million to a joint venture between his KAR Properties and Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group.

The sale represents progress for the long-stalled One River Point project; the buyers plan to co-develop the site, with sales set to begin next year.

– Ted Glanzer