Word spreads like wildfire when Jay-Z and Beyonce are involved, and it appears the latest conflagration has consumed a prize piece of real estate in the Village of East Hampton. But don’t worry, both a pond and the Atlantic Ocean are nearby in case this new flame gets out of control.
All this metaphor-heavy lede means to say is that according to Behind the Hedges, the hot-gossip couple are the new owners of 81 Briar Patch Road. By buying the property, Jay-Z and Beyonce have rewarded the patience and persistence on the part of the owners and their Compass representatives. After eight years on the market and with an original ask of $39.5 million, the so-called Pond House has sold. The $25,920,000 purchase price would make it the highest sale in the village in 2017—except for a property on Lily Pond Lane, which earlier this year went for $29 million. (Both could be easily eclipsed if another house on Briar Patch, with a $140 million price tag, is sold soon.)
Pond House offers, among many appealing features, 200 feet of direct frontage on Georgica Pond as part of its 2 acres. The Jeffrey Cole-renovated residence is 12,000 square feet containing 7 bedrooms and 7.5 baths. Amenities include hand-carved marble tubs, quarter-sawn white oak paneling with hand-applied French chalk finish, and hand-pegged parquet de Versailles floors throughout. The beautiful grounds have a spa and infinity-edged pool. There is also a detached, 1,800-square-foot guest cottage.
Some of our more attentive readers may recall that we wrote about the Pond House being for sale exactly a year ago. It was originally designed for Edward Simmons by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White, the foremost architecture firm of its day. Simmons was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1852, and at 22 he graduated from Harvard College. He became an Impressionist painter mostly known for large murals. His first commission was to create murals for the Municipal Arts Society. Subsequent mural projects were done for the Criminal Courthouse at 101 Centre Street in Manhattan, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and Library of Congress. He belonged to a group known as the Ten American Painters as well as the Society of American Artists.
Simmons turned his hand to writing, producing an autobiography in 1922, “From Seven to Seventy,” and passed away nine years later—just in time to avoid having to extend his autobiography to bring the story up to age 80.
In case you can’t swing by Briar Patch Road to congratulate Jay-Z, maybe you can tune in to the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” on September 30, when he will be the musical guest.
on Sep 21, 2017