New Development Company Makes Foray Into Hamptons With Trio of Concrete Homes

DeUna Holdings, a new development company with two experienced developers behind it, is making its first foray into the Hamptons market with three modern luxury homes, two of which are rising in East Hampton, and a third in Sag Harbor.

Stefano Braganti and Hezi Mena, who formed their company two years ago, decided they would specialize in modern concrete homes that are durable and eco-friendly — nearly net-zero.

Rather than build cookie-cutter homes, they have enlisted a different architect for each of the first three homes that are in the works, and they intend to continue building a few single-family homes in the Hamptons each year going forward, though, in an interview on Friday, Braganti acknowledged that finding buildable land for sale in the region poses a challenge.

Braganti has been working for other developers on and off for 10 years, mostly on high-end multifamily residential building in New York City. It was while working as the builder of a project in the city that he met architect Enrico Tognoni, a fellow Italian who designs houses as well as commercial builds. Braganti enlisted Tognoni to also design DeUna Holdings’ first Hamptons project, 8 Barnes Avenue in East Hampton.

Though the other two DeUna Holdings projects — 1694 Millstone Road in Sag Harbor, and 9 Blue Jay Way in East Hampton — have different architects than 8 Barnes Avenue, Braganti said each has a similar design program, with seven bedrooms, eight or nine bathrooms, and common spaces for gathering and activities. What the residences also will have in common is their use of concrete, allowing for more design possibilities and architectural flexibility.

At 8 Barnes Avenue, the only structural columns run on the north and south sides of the residence, he explained. “So you’re not forced to follow any particular design on the interior side, because you don’t need to have walls,” he said. “Potentially, it could be a huge open space that the architect or the interior designer can rearrange as he wishes.”

What he also likes about concrete is its durability. “It’s not affected by aging. It’s not affected by weather,” he said.

And, acoustically, it’s said that concrete homes are better — because there is no creaking wood.

He noted that while Tognoni is doing the architectural design, he and his partner, Mena, are doing the structural design. He has worked in design with concrete for 12 years, and his partner has for 20 years, he said.

The home comes with a solar array that is the biggest that New York State will allow at a single-family home with net metering — 25 kilowatts — and high-efficiency windows. It is designed to be nearly net-zero, generating annually whatever energy it will use in a year.

It includes a home theater, wine cellar, infinity pool, sundeck, sauna and steam room. The main living area has a 22-foot fireplace with supersize slabs of Grigio Argento marble sourced from an Italian quarry.

Braganti said that one of his personal favorite things about the house are the big windows, including approximately 40-foot-long windows along the north and south sides that can both open. He said that with the windows open there is a sense of being outdoors while standing inside the kitchen.

The Barnes Avenue residence has an anticipated completion date of January 2024, and the second home that DeUna Holdings has planned is running about a month behind the first. The third home has not broken ground yet but will follow on the heels of the second.

Braganti said that he and Mena want to keep building a couple of houses every year in the Hamptons, as they can find the opportunities, and that they are not working elsewhere.

“We are not a mass developer,” he said. “We are really focused on what we are doing. … After working for several years for other people, this is the first time that we’re doing it for ourselves.”

The Barnes Avenue residence is listed precompletion with Sara Traverso, Bianca D’Alessio and Douglas Sabo of Nest Seekers for $7.5 million.