A source confirmed to Behind The Hedges that Bay Street Theater is in contract to purchase the Water Street Shops in Sag Harbor, where the 7-Eleven is located, overlooking Sag Harbor Cove.
This prime piece of real estate adjacent to the John Steinbeck Memorial Park hit the market in July for $13.9 million.
Enzo Morabito of Douglas Elliman, the listing agent, declined to comment.
The mixed-use property includes a 15,000-plus-square-foot commercial building with eight retail units on the lower level, four office suites on the upper level and a total of 30 parking spaces. In addition to the 7-Eleven, it is also home to Sing City and Water Street Wine & Spirits. It has two addresses; 22 Long Island Avenue and 22 West Water Street.
Bay Street, a not-for-profit, professional theater will not have far to move, though there is certainly much that will need to happen before then.
The 299-seat theater leases the building at the corner of Bay Street and the Long Wharf. The theater, founded in 1991 by Sybil Christopher, Emma Walton Hamilton and Stephen Hamilton, has been looking for a more permanent home especially in the last decade when there were times where it did not appear the lease would be renewed. It has about three years left on its current lease.
The folks at Bay Street are remaining mum for now about their exact plans for the property, but a new building, one that can suit the theater’s needs, is almost certain. Adam Potter, chief executive officer of the Friends at Bay Street Theater, declined to comment.
There is plenty of opportunity for development on the .67-acre property. With approximately 300 feet of frontage on West Water Street, the property has panoramic water views and neighbors high-end residential development.
