Water Mill’s “Island in the Sky” Headed for Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions

Water Mill, Hamptons, auctions
A view of the property

“Island in the Sky,” a Water Mill estate designed by the Japanese-American architect and sculptor Setsuo Ito, will be auctioned off next month.

The property at 984 and 984A Noyac Path, which has been on and off the market for several years, is the latest Hamptons listing to be offered for sale with Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, in cooperation with Angela Boyer-Stump of Sotheby’s International Realty, who has the listing.

A Norman Jaffe-designed house in East Hampton Village is set to be auctioned on January 5.

Listed for $7.995 million, the 14.7-acre Water Mill property will sell with a $2.95 million reserve to the highest bidder. Bidding is scheduled to be held January 24 to 31 via Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions’ online marketplace, casothebys.com, which allows those interested to bid digitally from anywhere in the world.

“From the offering of nearly 15 acres to the limitless possibility to create a dream compound, this is simply not an opportunity to buy that comes around every day,” Boyer-Stump said in a press release released Monday. “We’re pleased to be joining forces with Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions. With their global relationships, world-class marketing, and deep database of prospective buyers combined with our existing reputation in the local market, we look forward to identifying the new owner for this one-of-a-kind property.”

Sitting up on a 300-foot elevation, one of the highest points the East End has to offer, the house is perched on a hilltop in Water Mill that offers a glimpse of the ocean over the treetops.

It is also one of the most unique. Ito built the 12,000-square-foot sprawling house in the early 1990s on a nine-acre parcel of land he had purchased a decade earlier. The house’s size could never be replicated today due to the aquifer overlay district created just after Ito began construction, imposed to protect where the water is most pure.

The Feng Shui-inspired house begins with a grand entryway that leads into the living room, gallery and contemporary dining and renovated kitchen area, centered around a rare open gas fireplace. There are six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and one-half bath.

Water Mill’s Most Famous Pool?

Water Mill, Hamptons, auctions
The pool as seen from the steel pyramid that overlooks the propertyCourtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

“Entertain from the pool cabana, crowned with a two-tiered steel pyramid left open to the elements and orientated to the four points of the compass, designed to frame the endless vistas surrounding the property,” the description says.

Then there is the custom pool that gives the house its name. Some may call it a rooftop pool, though it’s really more elevated between the home’s ground floor and the second level, surrounded by a 5,000-square-foot deck, recently redone with Ipe wood.

The pool and the adjacent pyramid-topped structure were featured in a music video for the Notorious B.I.G.’s break-out hit Juicy back in the 1990s. Standing poolside, Biggie spit the first bars on the rags-to-riches anthem: “It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine . . .”

The house sits on a nine-acre property and an adjacent six acres allow for a potential build-out as there is the potential for a clearing allowance that would allow for an 8,000-square-foot home on the adjacent lot and the opportunity to create what Sotheby’s is calling “an unprecedented dream compound.”

The house, which sits at the end of a half-mile-long driveway, also offers extreme privacy. The gated estate is surrounded by approximately 15 acres of preserved land.

“For the ultimate buyer, this is an extremely rare opportunity to acquire a property and lot of this caliber for under $3 million,” said Paulina Kimbel and Caitlin Keys, vice presidents of business development at Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, in the press release. “Most importantly, the auction is the perfect venue for buyers to ensure they are paying market value as they will have to compete against one another in a transparent manner.”

An aerial photo of the houseCourtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

Interested buyers have to register on the site and provide proof of liquid funds, which will determine their maximum bid. A $100,000 deposit is also required, which is fully refundable to everyone who does not win.

Additional features in the existing home include white-glass flooring, custom contemporary cabinets and white stone countertops in the renovated kitchen, which also boasts designer appliances.

The listing at 984 & 984A Noyac Path is available for showings daily from 12 to 3 p.m. and by appointment. It is also available for private virtual showings.

As part of Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions’ Key for Key® giving program in partnership with Giveback Homes, the closing will result in a new home built for a family in need.

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