A few weeks after Southampton Town tried to sell a sliver of oceanfront land in Sagaponack at a bargain, there is still no new owner.
The town put the 0.6-acre vacant lot at 152 Sandune Court up for sale, with a starting bid of $102,200, on December 10. Five business days later, on December 16, the bidding closed, with only two bids submitted.
The town contracts department and attorney’s office made a recommendation to the Southampton Town Board on whether to accept or reject the bids. Board members were expected to make a decision at the board’s meeting on December 22 but instead chose to table the matter until the new year.
“There was some discussion among board members that perhaps the new board would like an opportunity to review what our current board already had,” said Southampton Town Deputy Supervisor and Chief of Staff Frank Zappone, in late December. “So, board members agreed they would postpone to the second meeting in February, the 22nd or 23rd, to review.”
The two bidders who threw their hats in the ring were billionaire real estate developer Lloyd Goldman, who has an oceanfront home next door to the Sagaponack parcel, and H.D.F. LLC, which is tied to Southampton Press Publisher Joseph P. Louchheim, who also has a home in Sagaponack. Mr. Goldman had paid the town $1 for a utility easement in October 2014 to bury lines underneath the lot. He submitted a bid of $200,000. Mr. Louchheim’s bid came in marginally higher, at $202,000.
The lot is not buildable, and it is unclear whether there are any covenants on it, or the nature of those covenants. However, according to Mr. Zappone, a constituent called Town Hall in December to say that the parcel is a public access point to the beach. There is only one reference to beach access on a survey map, Mr. Zappone explained, but it does not clearly state whether it is designated for neighboring properties only or the public at large. Upon a sale, the town will have to sort out this unknown variable.
If the new Town Board accepts a bid, it will make for one of the least expensive land sales in recent Sagaponack history. The village, which is known for its expansive estates, ranked number two on the Forbes list of most expensive zip codes in America last year.
Carey London on Jan 11, 2016