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S
onia Gaviola bears one of Montauk’s most recognizable names. So it is fitting that she is the head of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s newest office on Main Street in downtown Montauk. With nine agents (and growing) in the small hamlet, Prudential has pegged Montauk as one of the future hot spots—the “next Sag Harbor” as one of its chiefs put it.
The popularity of a hip new bar and restaurant that drew the upscale weekend crowd away from western joints like Pink Elephant and Dune on many weekends last year has many scene watchers thinking that Montauk may have finally arrived as part of the Hamptons hot-spot milieu. Montauk may not yet be quite ready for a coming out party, but Ms. Gaviola says changes are definitely afoot in the hamlet she has called home for 22 years.
As the former co-owner of Gaviola’s Market and Finest Kind Wines and Liquors she was in touch with the local business market before starting her Atlantic East Realty, which was bought by Prudential in 2005.
Ms. Gaviola sat down with The Press for lunch recently at the Shagwong Restaurant, one of Montauk’s most venerable lunch-and-dinner spots. At the end of a bar lined with commercial fishermen, she chatted about the past, present and future of “The End.”
Q : Prudential just opened a new office in Montauk. What’s the thinking there, considering the market these days?
A: We really believe that Montauk is really where the growth is. Montauk really hasn’t changed that much over the years, in relation to the other Hamptons, where there has been lots of change. I think just because of its geographic location and how it has been perceived. It’s always been a rough-and-tumble fishing and surfing kind of town. And now people like that, they like being part of that kind of feeling. With busy lives they feel like they can come out here and just relax.
Q: So it hasn’t changed in the past. Will it now?
A: It’s still a lot of mom and pop stuff. That is changing, slowly. I lived out here for 22 years and things have definitely started to change a little. The season has gotten longer, for instance.
Q: A lot has been made of the effect the Surf Lodge has had, drawing the more up-scale weekend crowd from Southampton and East Hampton. Is that an important part of Montauk’s future?
A: That remains to be seen. There’s always a hot place, the hot spot. But then it cools off. There’s always been a weekend club crowd out here but not that crowd. It’s sort of a different vibe, more upscale. The Surf Lodge has a lot to do with that.
Q: The Surf Lodge seems to be the target of a lot of complaints. Why?
A: They’ve tried to be good neighbors. Parking is a huge issue in Montauk no matter where you are.
Q: Is the opposition to them a disservice to the town
A: I think so. Just drive past. Put yourself back three years and drive past and drive past now. To me, that’s progress. People just don’t like change. They’ll blend in eventually.
Q: Do the real Montauk locals feel like it’s so bad?
A: I don’t think so. They are doing their thing and they see another businessperson doing business. I don’t think they see what the big controversy was other than the parking, which has always been a problem.
Q: Who are the new people coming to Montauk?
A: I’m seeing a lot of young families. Young upwardly mobile couples with young children who like what Montauk has to offer. They like the security, the peacefulness, the laid-back attitude that you might not have in Bridgehampton or East Hampton.
Q: Sag Harbor used to be the “un-Hampton” and now it is the “super-Hampton,” the most Hampton of the Hamptons. Does Montauk have that kind of potential for change?
A: Absolutely. And we have the ocean. We have it all.
Q: So why hasn’t it happened earlier?
A: There is that extra Napeague stretch that does stop some people ... That extra half-hour on a Friday night. I find that people that buy in Montauk, they’re not looking everywhere else. Most people that want to be in Montauk only want to be in Montauk.
Q: And if you’re in Montauk you’re staying in Montauk. There’s no going to Bridgehampton for lunch. Can Montauk sustain that?
A: That remains to be seen. I think that’s something that’s going to have to be added. We’ve already seen a lot of service type industries grow because of demand. I think that will happen. I’m sort of melancholy about it almost.
Q: How will growth change the face of Montauk?
A: The growth will be in the commercial side of things, restaurants and retail. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to do that out here because it’s very cold in the winter. So it will only change very slowly. There is business opportunity. The Four Seasons is not going to work out here. But still you have very high-end clientele who want to be part of this kind of scene. The surfing thing is really the heart of it. These hedge fund guys are all surfers now.
Q: What has to change?
A: If you’re going to get the upscale crowd you have to provide the services. We’re getting it already. I’ve heard different things about J.Crew and Ralph Lauren already, I think that’s what’s going to happen.
Q: Prices are going up, up, up? Where does it stop? What’s the future?
A: We’re just now starting to see a slip in the market. We have some stuff that is going to sell for under $500,000. In terms of where we’ve been for a few years now, that’s history-making. I think we might have a little bit to go down still.
Q: Has it hit bottom?
A: I think we will still see a little bit of a price drop still here. But now is a really great time to buy. If I were in the market right now I’d be buying. People are very willing to negotiate. There are some really great deals out there.
Q: What is the house supply in Montauk like? Styles, sizes, etc.?
A: You have a lot of diversity in style in Montauk. In Southampton there are a lot of stately homes that were copied over and over and over. You don’t have that here. A lot more of the Leisurama homes that were built in the ’60s ... And in the last 10 years, a lot more of the post-modern homes—cedar cottage-style with amenities like swimming pools.
Q: In Southampton and Amagansett there has been a lot of tear-down redevelopment. Is that Montauk’s future?
A: A great majority of the houses in Montauk are primed to be redeveloped. A lot of the lots in Montauk are half-acre zoning. The Panorama area, Country Club Estates, those homes lend themselves to being replaced.
Q: Where are the biggest houses?
A: Culloden Point was the last major development. Started in like 1998. There were 50-some-odd lots. That abuts a 200-acre reserve and those were all acre- to acre-and-a-half lots.
Q: Are they all sold?
A: There’s a few scattered lots in there available.
Q: The Panoramic went to condos, very high end condos. Is that indicative of what’s on the horizon?
A: That remains to be seen. They’re stunning units.
Q: How much are they?
A: They vary from just under $3 million to just over $5 million.
Q: Are they selling?
A: I think two or three of them have closed. I don’t know how many there are exactly, maybe 15. It was bad timing.
Q: How bad is the market?
A: It’s just hard right now. People that are buying now are looking for a deal and every deal is difficult.
Q: When did you open a Montauk office?
A: We were acquired by Prudential in 2005. We have 9 agents in Montauk. I’m growing the office. We’re actively recruiting agents for the Montauk office right now. I think they see the growth potential here. There is that correlation between Sag Harbor and Montauk. It happened there, it will happen here. It’s time, it’s time for Montauk now.
on Jun 23, 2009