East Hampton’s famous ‘White House’ hits the market at $12.5 million

The early 18th century East Hampton home that developer and bicycling enthusiast Fred Mengoni bought in 1989 and completely refinished has been put back on the market for $12.5 million, the New York Times reported. Mengoni, who was born in Italy, died in February 2018 at 94. The Georgian home at 6 Woods Lane was built around 1725, but had fallen into disrepair by the 1980s. “I gutted it,” Mengoni told the Times a decade later. “It was a piece of junk.” Sitting on nearly three acres, the 7,600-square-foot home has four levels, seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, two half-bathrooms, a marble-covered main floor, a rosewood-paneled library, a dining room with a fireplace, an indoor Jacuzzi and a wine cellar. The grounds also hold a pool, pool house, three-car garage and a barn. Douglas Brown and Paul Brennan of Douglas Elliman, the latter of whom came in at No. 8 on The Real Deal‘s annual ranking of top Hamptons brokers, have the listing. Mengoni, for all his efforts to make the place shine, rarely stayed in the home, opting instead for his Manhattan townhouse. Behind the Hedges and Dan’s Papers noted that Mengoni slept in the home less than 15 times in the nearly 30 years he owned it, and the Times reported that the late developer would sometimes stop by at 5 a.m., grab his bike and pedal off into an East End sunrise. [NYT]