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Plans are afoot for 22 Windmill Lane in Southampton Village, although it’s not yet clear what shape they will take.
Plywood has been peeled off windows, “For Sale” signs have come, gone and returned, and antiques have appeared inside and out at the prominent spot in the village’s commercial district. Meanwhile, officials met recently with owner Ian DeFronze, who said this week that he is still exploring what can be done with this complicated property with both historic value and commercial potential—combined with septic worries and a period of neglect.
Set on 0.2 acre, the two-story, 4,434-square-foot building contains what is known as the Rhodes House, a pre-Revolutionary War home that Mayor Mark Epley said is one of the oldest in the village, but the present physical health of which is unknown. Most recently used for apartments, the building sat vacant for years while owned by Alex Demetriades, who was forced by the village to clean it up before he sold it in 2014 to Mr. DeFronze’s family.
“It’s a very valuable structure from a historic standpoint,” Mr. Epley said, adding that it sits just a few structures outside the village’s historic district, but still would need board approval for demolition—an unlikely prospect, he said.
For his part, Mr. DeFronze said he is working with professionals on a plan to submit to the village, one that most likely will involve putting up a new building around the historic home. “We are most likely going to restore the historic house to its original design,” he said.
At the same time he said he is “temporarily” offering to sell the property for $1.5 million.
From the village’s standpoint, there are plenty of potential uses: restoring the building and adding a coffee shop or an office space with “second-floor living opportunities,” for example, Mr. Epley said. However, the Suffolk County Department of Health will most likely determine the ultimate use based on septic flow, which the mayor said is a primary concern on Windmill Lane until the village rolls out its new sewer district.
That district “will play a role in improving properties throughout the village, especially on Windmill Lane,” the mayor said, noting that the DeFronzes were “enthusiastic” about doing something with their own slice of the street.
“They’re developing a plan around it, trying to figure out what direction to take,” Mr. Epley said after noting that the place had been eyesore for many years. “They’re developing a plan, which is good.”
on Sep 21, 2015