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The Arc House in East Hampton sold for $2.18 million after the U.S. Department of Justice seized it from its former owners. COURTESY MB ARCHITECTURE
The Arc House, an unconventional East Hampton home by architect Maziar Behrooz that was seized by the federal government, sold for $2.18 million last month.
The U.S. Marshals listed the Arc House at 50 Green Hollow Road for $2.75 million this past summer after the U.S. Department of Justice seized the property from Jessica Meli, whose husband, Joseph Meli, was the subject of a securities and wire fraud case. Ms. Meli had purchased the property in 2015 for $3 million, money that was deemed ill-gotten gains. In all, Mr. Meli was ordered to forfeit $104 million, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Meli pleaded guilty in relation to a scheme to pocket private investments that were intended to finance the purchase of Broadway tickets for resale on the secondary market.
Built in 2010, the Arc House was initially designed in a collaboration between Mr. Behrooz and James Salomon, a local art dealer. Around 2007, Mr. Behrooz showed Mr. Salomon a photograph of an F-16 jet coming out of an airplane hangar, and the design took off. Mr. Behrooz explained during an interview last year that the house is in an area of East Hampton that is home to many greenhouses and barns, and he wanted to design a structure that “took into account the diverse architecture that had been a part of that area.”
Built to resemble a quonset hut, the Arc House offers 6,400 square feet of living space on a 3-acre lot. The ceiling peaks at 16 feet at its center and requires no columns for structural support.
Colliers International represented the U.S. Marshals in the sale. Bonny Aarons and Janette Goodstein of Douglas Elliman brought the buyer, Louis Levy, the executive vice president of the Levy Group, a clothing designer, manufacturer, importer, marketer and distributor.
Staff Writer on Oct 7, 2019