Nothing happens,” Carl Sandburg wrote, “unless first a dream.” The late poet could well have added the word “home” to his musing and been speaking of the Hamptons, where finding one’s dream home is more likely to become a reality than almost anywhere else. Whether you imagine yourself living on the ocean, enjoying magnificent bay views, playing 18 holes in your backyard, partying like Jay Gatsby—this quintet of Hamptons homes are, as another renowned wordsmith once said, such stuff as dreams are made on.
Once-in-a-Lifetime
28 Gin Lane, Southampton Village
$50,000,000
When they say some chances only come along once in a lifetime, this is the type of thing they’re referring to. Almost 4 acres of Southampton oceanfront, 28 Gin Lane last changed hands 55 years ago. That was around 1960, when the estate section of Southampton was still the province of a closed elite, and when summer in Southampton was less about swimming and sunbathing and more about appearing at the right parties in the right clothes. A beachfront property wasn’t so much about ocean vistas and sunlight as it was meant to help establish bona fides—28 Gin Lane preserves that now-vanished world. The stately 7,300-square-foot Tudor manse, which was built in 1900, is quite charming—a buyer with Anglophile tendencies may well be prepared to restore the house to its original glory.
Angel View
6 Bay View Court, North Haven
$49,000,000
Photo credit: Jake Rajs / Courtesy Sotheby’s International Realty
When it comes to luxury real estate, what does the name “Angel View” conjure? The vistas from the 50-foot bluffs at this North Haven estate, which is bestowed with that title, will beat whatever one could imagine. The 6.5-acre parcel in a gated community has 500 feet of frontage on Noyac Bay, facing the sunset. The custom-built chateau-style residence has six bedrooms with full bathrooms and two additional partial baths. The entry hall has a beautiful staircase and exposed beams. Beams are also a feature in the living room with a stone fireplace that reaches the height of the soaring ceiling. The dining room features a coffered ceiling, and the updated kitchen has a dining area as well.
The sound system is estate-wide. Among the many amenities on the grounds are a two-tiered infinity pool, a north-south tennis court, lush and colorful gardens, rock-rimmed ponds and streams, a cabana and direct access to launch kayaks, paddleboards and personal watercraft. This is the first time Angel View has been put on the market.
Villa Maria
51 Halsey Lane, Water Mill
$85 million
Villa Maria is one of the most storied estates in the Hamptons. The property was originally developed in the late 1800s by a group of businessmen, and the mansion itself took on its current shape starting in 1919, when a new owner hired prominent architect Frank Freeman to expand on the original footprint. The estate earned the nickname “Red Gables” due to the addition of a red-tile roof. The name Villa Maria came after the Roman Catholic Church acquired the property in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Villa Maria was a convent for decades before Nine West founder Vince Camuto—who passed away earlier this year—and his wife, interior designer Louise Camuto, bought the estate in 2005 and embarked on a five-year restoration project that would return it to its Gatsby-era splendor while providing modern amenities. New York architect Andre Tchelistcheff and East Hampton’s John Hummel and Associates Custom Builders were enlisted to update the residence while maintaining historic integrity, and landscape architect Edmund D. Hollander of Manhattan restored and enhanced the gardens.
In addition to the 22,000-square-foot main residence—with its 11 bedrooms including a six-room master suite and 15.5 baths—the 11-acre estate on Mecox Bay has a carriage house and a gatehouse. Among the many amenities is a pool, dock and tennis court. The asking price includes Villa Maria itself and three additional parcels.
Three Ponds Farm
919 Scuttle Hole Road, Bridgehampton
$60,000,000
In the late 1990s, the current owners of Three Ponds Farm, which has frontage on Long Pond and encompasses two additional water bodies, envisioned for their 60-acre estate a European-influenced Tuscan villa. They complemented the eight-bedroom 20,000-square-foot residence with a USGA-rated 18-hole golf course by renowned course designer Rees Jones. There’s even a “19th hole” clubhouse and pro shop. If golf’s not your thing, the 60 acres can be reimagined as a family compound, horse farm, etc.—whatever you desire, you’ve got the room. And there’s already a grass tennis court, pool, spa, pavilion, dock, formal gardens and rose garden. Also among the amenities are two three-car garages and a three-bedroom caretaker’s house.
Strongheart Manor
26 Actors Colony Road, North Haven
$47,500,000
Despite two price cuts since it went on the market in 2013 with an asking price of $65 million, actor Richard Gere’s Strongheart Manor is still one of the priciest properties in the Hamptons. The residence, on 6.3 acres with more than 300 feet of waterfront, is more than a century old and has views of Peconic Bay and Shelter Island’s Mashomack Preserve. The manor is 12,000 square feet and the compound includes two guesthouses, as well. That brings the total number of bedrooms and bathrooms on the estate to 12 and 12. The grounds have a basketball court, 60-foot pool overlooking the bay, a bridge over a pond, a teahouse, specimen oak trees and a fireplace pavilion.
Read more Real Estate Top 5 at DansPapers.com/RealEstateTop5
