One Kings Lane To Open In Former Rogers Memorial Library Building In Southampton

An online luxury furniture retailer will open its first physical storefront at the old Rogers Memorial Library building on Jobs Lane in Southampton Village this summer.

When the retailer, One Kings Lane of San Francisco, opens the doors of the two-story, 3,500-square-foot building this Memorial Day, it will be the first time the building has been occupied since 2012. The Parrish Art Museum had owned the building at 11 Jobs Lane, dubbing it the Carroll Petrie Center for Education. When the Parrish relocated its museum to a new facility in Water Mill in 2012, it sold the former library to Sagaponack resident Jonathan S. Sobel for $2.875 million. Mr. Sobel then marketed the space for rent.

The furniture store will be partnering with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail, a New York City-based commercial real estate advisory firm, when it opens in the heart of the village’s business district.

Debbie Propst, the president of One Kings Lane, said in a press release this week that she is excited to be opening in the 122-year-old building.

“Opening our first street-level physical retail location is a major step for One Kings Lane in our mission to help our customers live their personal style, and we are thrilled to be able to do so in such an iconic summer destination,” Ms. Propst said. “As we are always looking to push the boundaries of traditional retail, partnering with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail to occupy the historic 11 Jobs Lane space felt like the perfect fit and will undoubtedly be a terrific way to engage the local community and be an organic, local resource for home and design.”

A representative of the company could not be reached for additional comment.

As One Kings Lane starts transforming the interior of the building to house its wide inventory of furniture, the exterior of the building will also be getting a face lift.

In March, the Southampton Village Board voted to allow the exterior of the building to be renovated based on an 1899 postcard, to make the facade look more like it did during that era.

Mayor Mark Epley said the Board of Historic Preservation & Architectural Review also gave a green light to change the exterior of the building, including painting the stucco siding white.

The Victorian Gothic library was designed by R.H. Robertson and built in 1895. Then in 1915, an addition designed by Grosvenor Atterbury was completed. When the Rogers Memorial Library moved to a new building on Windmill Lane in the village in 2000, the Jobs Lane building was sold to the Parrish Art Museum, which stood next door at the time.

When One Kings Lane comes to Southampton it will operate seasonally, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. According to the release, the store will have much of the same offerings found on its website, onekingslane.com—including in-house interior designers, exclusive furnishings and vintage pieces.