Behind The Hedges wishes all of its readers and followers a Happy New Year!
Thank you for all the support throughout 2024, whether it was visiting our website for daily updates on the various markets we cover or picking up one of the 28 magazines we produced last year in Dan’s Papers, the Long Island Press and Dan’s New York City. We appreciate every tip emailed and every time you tap to like one of our posts on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
Let’s take a quick look back at all we reported on in 2024:
Editor’s Pick: Breaking New Ground and Filling a Home With Joy
This may have been my favorite story to write all year because the subject, Robert Hartwell, exudes pure joy — plus, he’s someone I watched grow up. When we were kids and he would visit his dad, known to many in the Hamptons as Coach William Hartwell, over the summer, we spent many afternoons and evenings hanging out by the basketball court together. I remember when Robert told me, with absolute certainty, that he would be a Broadway star. The fact that he did never surprised me. Over the past few years, he embarked on a personal journey, becoming a homeowner and fixing up a storied old house in the Berkshires that became the focus of an HBO Max docuseries. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should!
Best News of the Year: Preservation
Some of the best news of 2024, and many readers agree, was about vacant land being saved from development. Thanks to the COVID-19 real estate boom, the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) coffers had plenty of money to bankroll large-scale preservation when massive, highly valuable plots of land went on the market. Earlier this year, the Topping family sold 27 acres of Bridgehampton, south-of-the-highway farmland, purchased in a public-private partnership for $48 million with $30 million coming from Southampton Town’s CPF money. Then just last month, East Hampton Town finalized the $56 million purchase of approximately 30 acres along Wainscott Pond, near the ocean. It was the town’s largest acquisition using CPF money ever. That’s nearly 60 acres of land that will forever remain open space thanks, in part, to the huge real estate sales volume over the last four years.
Readers’ Favorite Magazine Piece: Lazy Point: The Crown Jewel of the ‘Anti-Hamptons’
It’s no wonder that the very special area of Lazy Point, framed by Gardiner’s Bay and Napeague Harbor, got readers’ attention. This enclave grew out of late-19th-century shacks that were built to house migrant laborers working for the Smith Meal Fish Factory, which processed and sold menhaden. While most Lazy Point residents own their physical homes, some land parcels the homes occupy are governed by a lease program overseen by the East Hampton Board of Trustees, so it’s a unique area by that standard alone. “In a lot of ways, Lazy Point is the anti-Hamptons, a relatively affordable waterfront oasis surrounded by – yet clearly set apart from – some of the priciest, most exclusive real estate in the world,” wrote Marc Horowitz in the piece. Give it a read if you haven’t.
Most Read Online Story: Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union Are Now North Forkers?
Celebrity real estate news always makes our top stories year after year, but this one was a bit of a surprise. When the retired basketball superstar and his actress wife bought a house over on the North Fork, everyone wanted to know more. They paid a reported $2.6 million in an off-market transaction for the 0.47-acre lot overlooking the Long Island Sound.
Favorite ‘House of the Day’: Water Mill’s SkyBox, a ‘Breathtaking Work of Modern Art,’ for $10M
We write about a lot of houses as part of our “House of the Day” series, but this one stood out because it’s a work of art. Kown as “SkyBox,” this Water Mill residence has won awards for its design as it looks as if it’s a sculpture floating effortlessly on one of the highest elevations on the East End. The 13-acre property, which offers 360-degree views of farmland, polo fields and the Atlantic Ocean, includes a main house and a separate guest house and guest studio. Not that I had $9.95 million to spent, but if I did . . . Too bad, though it is off the market now.
Biggest Commercial Real Estate News: Target Is Headed for Bridgehampton
This is hands down the biggest real estate news to hit the East End in a long time. Following the announcement that Kmart was closing its doors in the Bridgehampton Commons, it was revealed that Target is going to replace it. With the nearest Target being in Riverhead, many are overjoyed to get one closer to the Hamptons. Could it be that a Trader Joe’s is next? One can dream.
Let’s see what else is to come in real estate in 2025!
Email tvecsey@danspapers.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Behind The Hedges on X and Instagram.
