Former Shelter Island spiritual retreat gets subdivision
The former St. Gabriel’s Retreat Center, a 25-acre property on Shelter Island’s Coecles Harbor, has finally been subdivided and put on the market, Newsday reported. The five-lot residential development, known as Pandion, has listed three of them priced at $2.495 million, $3.995 million and $8.75 million. The Corcoran Group’s Cee Scott Brown, listing agent for Pandion, told Newsday that the property could have accommodated more than 20 homes but that the owner deliberately sought to limit the number in order to preserve the site’s environmental integrity. St Gabriel’s, owned by the Passionist Fathers for more than a century, closed in 2009 and was sold to financier and part-time Shelter Island resident Richard Hogan, according to a 2018 story from The Real Deal. In September 2017, Shelter Island’s planning board approved a plan that would see Pandion include five homes and other facilities for the local community, such as a boathouse with a dock. [Newsday] — Brian Baxter
Renovated Victorian in Southampton lists for $11M
A Southampton home built in 1840 and fully renovated in 2011 has hit the market for $10.5 million, Patch reported. The property at 225 Little Neck Lane last traded hands in 2008 for $6.5 million. The 9,000-square-foot home has 10 bedrooms along with six-and-a-half bathrooms. The owners, whose identities Patch did not disclose, took care to use materials true to the time the home was built, replacing and replicating design features around the house. They also added modern amenities such as a six-burner Wolf stove, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a media room. The home’s other touches include three fireplaces, one of which is made of breche violette marble, and a hand-painted mural by the Colefax & Fowler studio in London. The property is a little less than an acre and has both a pool and manicured hedges designed by landscape architects Miranda Brooks and John Beitel. Lori Schiaffino of Compass has the listing. [Patch]
East Hampton home hits market for first time in a century
Despite lacking a pool or tennis court, a 135-year-old East Hampton home has hit the market at $16.9 million, Behind the Hedges reported. Known as the Apaquogue and located at 72 Apaquogue Road, the home was once the site of East Hampton’s first boarding house. It was subsequently converted into a hotel that was used to house Belgian children evacuated from Europe during World War I. The property’s current owners, whose identities weren’t immediately disclosed, are now looking to sell the four-acre parcel because their family has grown and they don’t spend as much time on the East End as they would like, according to Behind the Hedges. The 10,000-square-foot, four-story home has 16 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three fireplaces and a large wrap-around porch. It’s listing notes that it has room to put in a finished basement, as well as a pool or tennis court. Frank Newbold and Marilyn Clark of Sotheby’s International Realty have the listing. [TRD]
Music executive ponies up for Sagaponack lot
Sagaponack might have one of the priciest streets on the East End, in Parsonage Lane, but there are still some moderately priced deals out there for high-end home buyers. Among them are music executive Cliff Chenfeld and his wife, Chana, who paid $6.3 million to acquire a 1.75-acre property in Sagaponack, 27east reported. The couple, who have reportedly had success flipping Manhattan real estate, bought a home at 778 Sagg Main Street that had most recently been listed with the Corcoran Group’s Susan Breitenbach at nearly $7 million following previous price reductions. The 2,500-square-foot residence, built in 1957, has five bedrooms and three bathrooms, although 27east noted that the listing for the property suggests new owners might want to pursue new construction. The home is within walking distance of the beach, as well as 610 Sagg Main Street, most recently listed at $9 million, and which 27east reported has been sold for $7.5 million to a limited liability company. [27east] — Brian Baxter
Bayfront East Hampton home sells after $450K price cut
A property sitting on Gardiners Bay has been sold to a limited liability company called Salt Water Farm for $7.2 million, 27east reported. The home at 24 Driftwood Lane in the Springs section of East Hampton hit the market in December seeking $7.65 million. Built in 1980, the home was completely renovated in 2008 by its former owners and Joe D’urso and Michael Haverland, a pair of designers and architects, who gave it “an exceptionally stylish aesthetic,” according to the outlet. The home has six bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms, an open floor plan, high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over Gardiners Bay. The upstairs master suite has a private terrace and an ensuite bathroom with its own standalone soaking tub and a wall of windows with views of the water, according to Curbed. The one-acre property has 170 feet of frontage, a saltwater gunite pool, a spa, bluestone patios and a detached garage with its own recreation room. Washington Duke, Matt Burns and Ryan Burns of Compass had the listing. [27east]
Southampton affordable housing lottery deadline is extended
Only a few weeks after announcing a lottery for 65 affordable housing units, Southampton officials have extended the deadline for people to apply to the recently-built housing at Sandy Hollow Cove or Speonk Commons, 27east reported. The original deadline of July 5 has been pushed back to July 22, although the outlet did not give a reason for the extension. The move came as the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons hosted South Fork housing officials at a forum devoted to combating misconceptions associated with affordable housing, such as plummeting property values, overcrowding and congestion. “We have to change the perception,” said Curtis Highsmith Jr., executive director of the Southampton Housing Authority, citing the 37 apartments available at Speonk Commons and the 28 at Sandy Hollow Cove in Tuckahoe. “There were wood floors, marble countertops, stainless steel appliances, cedar shingles — which shocked me,” he added. “But the state… and the county would pay us extra to ensure that these programs are properly funded so that it doesn’t have a negative stigma. They ensure that it’s state-of-the-art, it’s energy-efficient, it’s handicapped-accessible.” Available units include 52 studios or one-bedroom apartments and 13 two-bedroom apartments. Most of the units are for households earning up to 60 percent of the area’s median income. [27east]
Elliman touts upcoming Einstein Square debut in Southold
The New York Times recently profiled the North Fork waterfront hamlet of Southold, noting that Albert Einstein spent the summers of 1937 through 1939 in the area, where he visited the local Rothman’s Department Store and famously asked for “sandals,” not “sundials.” The misunderstanding led to a friendship with David Rothman, owner of the namesake store, which is being redeveloped into Einstein Square, a new downtown hub set to open on August 2. Behind the Hedges reported that Douglas Elliman’s Susan Romano and Scott Bennett are representing the commercial and residential space rental at 54180 Main Road, which Zillow shows was sold for $575,000 in early 2018. The now renovated Rothman’s store, which opened in 1919, will open to the public next month to coincide with its 100th anniversary and the 80th anniversary of Einstein’s time in Southold. Einstein once declared to Rothman that his time in Southold in 1939 was his “happiest summer ever,” before the theoretical physicist returned to Princeton in the fall. [Behind the Hedges] —Brian Baxter
Southold shrinks housing commission to improve efficiency
Amid a hot market for properties on the North Fork, the Southold Town Board recently voted 6-0 to bring down the number of members on its Housing Advisory Commission from 10 to seven, Newsday reported. Officials formed the commission in 2004 to make recommendations for finding solutions to Southold’s housing shortage and increasing housing opportunities for those who live in the town. The board said the commission had struggled to get quorums because its members often had busy schedules. Reducing its size, they hope, will help the committee function better. Former members, however, have said the commission’s problems have less to do with scheduling conflicts and more to do with trouble communicating with the board. Critics of the board’s decision said it could exacerbate local housing problems by limiting the number of experts involved in housing decisions. [Newsday]