There’s been a lot of buzz about the recent sale of the Dune Deck Beach Resort in Westhampton Beach to Discovery Land Company, a developer that is also proposing to build a controversial luxury home and golf community nearby on 168 acres (with about 426 acres left as open space) in East Quogue. The development is known as The Hills at Southampton.
Rumors have it that Discovery is backed by A-list actor George Clooney, restaurateur Rande Gerber and billionaire Ron Burkle. However, Mark Hissey, senior vice president of Discovery Land, denies their involvement. “Despite what Page 6 said, they are not backers,” Mr. Hissey said on Monday, referring to the New York Post’s popular gossip page.
In fact, Mr. Clooney and Mr. Gerber own Casamigos Tequila with Discovery CEO Mike Meldman. What is certain is that Medallion Financial Corp.’s Alvin and Andrew Murstein sold the beach-side Dune Deck to Discovery for almost $19 million. Medallion had originally purchased the resort’s units over time, from 2008 to 2010, for a total of $700,000.
Plans for the resort include replacing the current structure with a new beach club, complete with a pool and multi-sports court. The goal is to open in 2017, and it will be available to beach club members as well as members of The Hills community.