Arbor Realty CEO buys Bridgehampton’s Three Ponds Farm for $35M, Harry Macklowe’s East Hampton home lists for $21M & more Hamptons real estate news

Bridgehampton’s Three Ponds Farm sells at a $14M discount
Arbor Realty Trust CEO and president Ivan Kaufman is in contract to buy Three Ponds Farm in Bridgehampton for $35 million, down significantly from the $60 million it came on the market for last summer, the New York Post reported. The nearly 60-acre compound, which includes an 18-hole golf course, was designed by renowned golf course architect Rees Jones. The property features four shared greens and four fairways with three sets of tees. The property’s 25,000-square-foot main house, designed by Allan Greenberg, has eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, three half-bathrooms and five fireplaces. Other outdoor amenities include a pool, spa and a grass tennis court. Landscape architect Edmund Hollander also built gardens on the property, which first hit the market back in 2003 seeking $75 million. Four years later, the price was cut down to $68 million, and it most recently settled at $49 million in December. Bespoke Real Estate’s Zachary Vichinsky, one of two broker brothers who this month took the No. 1 spot in The Real Deal‘s ranking of the East End’s elite ultra luxury brokers, handled the sale. [TRD]

Harry Macklowe’s East Hampton home lists for $21M
In the latest development in bitter divorce battle between prominent New York City developer Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife, Linda, the couple’s former East Hampton home has hit the market for $21 million, Behind the Hedges reported. The brash and prolific developer had been married to his wife for 50 years until 2016 when they began a long and contentious separation process. In March, Macklowe unveiled a 42-foot-tall billboard featuring him and his new wife, Patricia Landeau, at 432 Park Avenue, which Macklowe owns. The Georgica Pond Home was designed in 1989 by Harry Bates along with Booher and Lund Architects. The 9,000-square-foot home at 78 Georgica Close Road has four bedrooms (with a convertible five bedroom) and six-and-a-half-bathrooms. The 2.3-acre property also has a pool, pool house, a four-car garage and 430 feet of water frontage. Tim Davis of the Corcoran Group, who came in at No. 5 in The Real Deal‘s most recent top Hamptons brokers ranking, had the listing. [Behind the Hedges]

Ex-Soros financier’s Southampton home heads to contract
The historic Wyndecote estate in Southampton has gone to contract after its owner, Scott Bessent, the former chief investment officer for billionaire George Soros’ $30 billion family office, listed the home for $22.5 million earlier this year, Behind the Hedges reported. The 11,000-square-foot home at 354 South Main Street has three floors, 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, three half-bathrooms, seven fireplaces, a wine cellar, a gym and a home theater. R.H. Robertson built the home for himself in 1887. Bessent, who founded the Key Square Group hedge fund, bought it for $9.95 million in 2012. Architect John David Rose renovated the entire property, earning him the 2018 AIA Peconic design award for outstanding achievement in historic preservation. He spruced up Wydecote’s wainscotting, staircase banisters, lead-paned windows, coffered ceilings and other original touches. Bruce and Harald Grant have the listing for Sotheby’s International Realty. [Behind the Hedges]

Southampton buys Hamptons Bays Community Center for $8.5M
The Hampton Bays Community Center has been sold for $8.5 million — nearly $3.5 million more than expected — in a deal approved earlier this month by Southampton Town Board members, according to 27east. Southampton currently leases the space to store records, act as an annex for its town clerk’s office and operate a senior nutrition program and adult daycare facility, the outlet reported. The town had rented space in the building since 2004 under a 15-year lease, but rather than enter into another sought several appraisals for the property. The total cost, according to 27east, came out to $8.5 million. “We had been paying rent and we had an option to buy,” Town Superviser Jay Schneiderman said during a recent special meeting. “If we don’t exercise the option to buy, the rent actually goes up. We believe that purchasing at this point is in the best interest. The rent that we pay is more than the debt service on the money that we will bond, so we can purchase the facility.” [27east]

East Hampton eyes more affordable housing with rule change
East Hampton Town officials hope to spur residents to create more affordable rental options by reducing the minimum lot size required for a homeowner to create an accessory apartment in a detached structure, according to 27east. If adopted, the minimum size would drop from 40,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet. The reduction would create 1,400 more eligible sites for affordable housing, either via an existing structure or the construction of a new one. The proposed law, which will get a public hearing on June 6, would still restrict the number of new accessory apartments in each of East Hampton’s school districts to 20. The original law allowed accessory apartments only within owner-occupied homes, but few homeowners took advantage of it. In 2016, East Hampton adopted amended rules for accessory apartments, but fears of overcrowding and clogged sewer systems prompted the town to increase the minimum lot size from a half-acre to 40,000 square feet. Under those rules, apartments can’t be less than 300 square feet or more than 600 square feet. Since the town first adopted its accessory apartment rules, only 22 have been created and a few more are “in the works,” said East Hampton housing director Tom Ruhle. [27east]

Owner of Duryea’s in Montauk tries to allay expansion fears as foes continue legal fight
The Tuthill Road Association has hired attorney Jonathan Wallace to help represent it in a renewed fight against Duryea’s Lobster Deck and Food Market in Montauk after local officials asked a state judge to nullify a settlement of lawsuits from its owner, Apollo Global Management co-founder Marc Rowan, 27east reported. Wallace, in his first public confrontation with Rowan’s representatives at a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting last week, called the eatery “lawless.” The lawyer sharply criticized what the association sees as Duryea’s disruptive expansion and Rowan’s lack of transparency. The billionaire’s acquisition of Duryea’s in 2014 has spurred a litany of local legal skirmishes between Rowan and residents. Neighbors have long felt that Duryea’s new owners have tried to expand the popular eatery and make it more of a destination, which they believe will destroy the character of the bucolic area. Rowan tried to tamp down those fears in an interview with 27east, telling the outlet that he’s tried to alter his plans to meet his neighbors’ various demands and that any changes are purely aesthetic. “This is a labor of love,” he said. “This is not my business. I am not in the restaurant business. If Duryea’s makes a dollar more or a dollar less, that doesn’t matter to me. I’m doing this because I want to do it — because I love that place.” [27east]