A New Estate To Join The Ranks in Sagaponack

In the affluent village of Sagaponack, where working farms and lavish homes sit side by side, the largest undeveloped parcel, which offers views of the dunes for passersby on Daniels Lane, will join the ranks of elaborately arresting estates.The narrow, 18.4-acre strip of land is located at 511 Daniels Lane, and while the proposed house pales in comparison to Ira Rennert’s infamous 63-acre compound, just two doors down, it will continue the trend of the area’s changing landscape, from rural to flirting-with-surburban.

The property is owned by Stem Partners LLC, with Gena Hatcher listed as the “manager of corporation,” according to village documents. The limited liability company is said to be in the care of financial planning firm The Ayco Company LP, according to New York State records, and Ayco is backed by Goldman Sachs. Stem Partners LLC purchased the land for $38 million in 2011.

Already approved by the Planning Board, the plans for the new home and elaborate landscaping were reviewed by the village’s Architectural and Historic Review Board on May 15.

The proposed 13,785-square-foot, two-story dwelling will have wall-to-wall glass windows, from one end of the house to the other. There will be 8 bedrooms, 8 full baths, 5 half baths and an elevator. The top floor will be home to the master bedroom and accompanying bath, as well as a dressing room, exercise room and two offices. Meanwhile, the basement will have a movie theater, a lounge, and one of the bedrooms and baths. The estimated cost of the project is $10 million.

A source of concern for some village officials was the applicant’s need to de-water the excavated hole before the foundation for the home can be poured. The process involves pumping out groundwater from the water table and retaining it elsewhere on the property, before finally returning it to the ground once the foundation is set.

“My first concern was about saltwater intrusion. If you pump too hard, you might draw in saltwater,” said Sagaponack Village Engineer Drew Bennett, who had reviewed the plans a few months ago. Stem Partners LLC requested an engineering study, which confirmed that there was no risk of drawing up saltwater. “Secondly, you have to put the water back into the ground,” essentially building a man-made pond somewhere on the property to hold it, at the risk of overflowing. The village, Mr. Bennett added, will be monitoring that. “The last issue was whether or not the foundation requires continual pumping to maintain a dry basement, and, in this case, they certified that their foundation does not require that.”

The house, a dramatic architectural statement in its own right, will be matched by an equally striking landscape design. About 8 acres facing the road will remain undeveloped, while the entrance to the property will have a “grand allee,” lined with trees leading hundreds of feet back into the property. It will run through an orchard, past the basketball and tennis courts and pavilion connecting the two, and alongside the “sculpture garden.” There will also be a pool and spa with an adjoining pool house, and a vegetable and “rain garden.” Ornamentally landscaped walkways will wind their way through the property.

Tom White, Chairman of the ARB, was reticent to offer an opinion before the board makes a final decision. At the meeting, board members requested more renderings to get a sense of what the property will look like from different angles and at different times of day. For example, at night, the house, with its expansive windows, will presumably emanate a great deal of light.

Unlike those for many estates, plans for this property do not include high hedges along the perimeter, a signature planting for gated homes on the East End. Still, the further diminishment of open space, and, in particular, farmland, is not lost on Sagaponack’s longtime residents. When reviewing the site plans for the property last year, Planning Board members groused over the “unnatural” looking landscaping, hoping for something more in line with the village’s rural roots.

The expanse at 511 Daniels Lane is “a piece of property that I’ve watched agriculture on for the last 50 years,” Mr. White said. Potatoes were the primary crop grown, alternating with grain and possibly corn. “It’s a question of [having] some of the best possible properties for raising crops, and yet we’re planting houses on it,” he said.

The ARB will review additional renderings at its next meeting on June 22.