Gin Lane Properties In Southampton Village Still In Holding Pattern, But Report Says They Are ‘Appropriate’

A massive compound slated for a waterfront lot on Gin Lane in Southampton Village’s historic district is “appropriate” for the estate section neighborhood, an architectural consultant concluded in a report to the village’s Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation.

On Monday, the board opted to leave open a public hearing on the proposed 15,242-square-foot house being proposed for 28 Gin Lane, along with a 5,055-square-foot guesthouse on the attached property at 24 Gin Lane, after discussing the letter submitted by Zachary Studenroth, the board’s architectural consultant.

“The proposed designs for two new, two-story dwellings on adjacent parcels on Gin Lane are appropriate within the architectural and historical context of the Southampton Village Historic District,” Mr. Studenroth said in his letter dated August 11. “Not only are each of the designs in compliance with applicable code requirements, but each responds architecturally to the challenges imposed by their long flag lots, which limit the effective buildable footprints within each parcel.”

The proposed home at 28 Gin Lane, Mr. Studenroth said, is situated in an L-shape on a parcel measuring approximately 3.75 acres. He said it has features such as a gabled roof oriented east to west, an elongated service wing that stretches to the north along the western property line that is connected by a loggia to the garage wing, and a forecourt that occupies the space between the main portion of the home and the garage.

“While large in scale, the massing and detailing of the main house minimize the visual impact of its size,” he wrote. “The hipped roof profiles and perpendicular facade gables with roof elements reaching to the ground floor contribute to this effect; the lowered roof ridge of the service wing and adjoining garage dependency reinforce the expressed intention of the design to reduce its visual scale.”

The guesthouse, on 24 Gin Lane, would be situated on 2.75 acres. The planned home will mirror design elements of the main home, and have a wood shingle roof, wood shingled wall cladding and flaring porch posts.

“This relationship between guest and main houses is a characteristic of estate architecture generally and, more specifically, to the neighborhood of the Southampton Village Historic District in which they are proposed,” Mr. Studenroth said in the letter.

After the original proposal was nearly 17,000 square feet, the property’s owner, international investor Scott Shleifer, agreed to reduce the size of the main home and modified it to appease neighbors who complained.

But one of the neighbors, Pam Michaelcheck, spoke out against the project to board members once again on Monday. “You cannot approve this building,” she said.

Ms. Michaelcheck explained that the mandate of the ARB is to consider the scale and mass of new construction in the historic district, and she maintained that the home being proposed is not compatible with the district.

“In my opinion, this is a defining moment of this board,” she said. “The property being discussed is the very heart of the historic district. This property is to Southampton what Penn Station was to New York City. If you allow it to be destroyed, by allowing a 240-foot-long building to go up, this village will be forever marred. There will be no turning back.”

Her husband, William Michaelcheck, echoed her thoughts, and an attorney representing residents in opposition, Jeff Bragman, told the board his clients objected to the length of the building and have asked the developers to move it 25 to 30 feet to the north.

Southampton Village-based attorney John Bennett was at the meeting to represent the architect, Manhattan-based Timothy Haynes. He told board members that the neighboring homeowners did not want 20 feet but wanted 38 feet. He labeled it a situation where “pigs get fat and hogs go to slaughter.”

Mr. Michaelcheck said he took offense at being referred to as a farm animal and demanded, in vain, that Mr. Bennett be removed from the room.

Mr. Bennett explained that his client has a view of the breaking waves, and pushing the home back as far as the neighbors want will take away the view.

Board members said they needed time to review Mr. Studenroth’s letter and go over the plans a little longer before making a decision. The next ARB meeting will take place on August 28 at Southampton Village Hall.