The heir to the Estée Lauder fortune is planning to sell his Wainscott land for $56 million, but not to a fellow megamillionaire looking to erect a sprawling compound.
Instead, Ron Lauder’s buyer is the town of East Hampton, which would preserve the land.
The town is utilizing its Community Preservation Fund pot to purchase the property at 66 Wainscott Main Street, 27East reported. The town board is expected to initiate the process for a public hearing, which would take place two weeks later.
Should the necessary approvals come through, the 30-acre purchase would mark the town’s most expensive acquisition using the preservation fund, dating back to 1998. The intent is to protect open space and agricultural land, with an emphasis on safeguarding water quality.
Town officials commended Lauder for agreeing to the sale. The businessperson purchased the property only three years ago for $66 million with the same goal of preventing development.
“His willingness to consider selling the parcel to the town for considerably below fair market value exemplifies a profound commitment to land preservation,” the town said in a statement.
The preservation fund collects 2 percent of the money from property sales. It found itself flush with cash during the pandemic’s boom market, as prices rose and open space to buy became harder to find.
Lauder’s land includes about a third of the shoreline of Wainscott Pond, which the state has deemed an impaired water body. Harmful algae blooms have invaded the pond, threatening its ecosystems. It’s the most consistently affected body of water in East Hampton, according to the Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook.
After the deal closes, the town will be able to run an analysis on the pond, which is owned by the town’s trustees, and implement remedial actions, such as upgrading onsite sanitary systems, enhancing stormwater management and establishing buffer zones.
The property also includes meadows and woodlands, which host numerous plant species and animals, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey and great blue herons.
Last year, Ron Lauder sold another property, the Rockefeller Guest House on East 52nd Street, for just under $20 million in an off-market deal.
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