Harbor's Edge In Sag Harbor Nearly Sold Out

Harbor’s Edge, the 15-unit luxury condominium building at 21 West Water Street in Sag Harbor, is nearly sold out, with only three never-sold units remaining.

In the few years since the project was completed and move-in ready, some previously purchased units have been put back on the market and have resold, or still remain for sale. The three units that have never sold before are on the first-floor, while the second-story units sold out nearly one year ago and the last of the three penthouses sold in May this year.

John and Bill Wines, a father-son team, are exclusively representing Harbor’s Edge for Saunders.

John Wines said that at the time they took over sales for the project in 2016, it had been quiet and dark and did not show a lot of activity. But they opened the doors and held many open houses, getting brokers and the public inside, generating interest. Mabley Handler Interior Design of Water Mill was brought in to decorate three model units, the lobby and the hallways. And once a few purchase contracts were in place, Harbor’s Edge got momentum, he said.

Built by Roy “Buddy” Wines IV of RLW4 Builders — John Wines’s nephew and Bill Wines’s cousin — the building includes a 50-foot rooftop lap pool with sun deck and wet bar, and the maintenance fees include concierge services, refrigerated storage for deliveries, and bicycle storage, among other amenities. Owners have private parking, with a garage for penthouse residents, and an on-site generator ensures uninterrupted power, heating and cooling.

The project had a rough start. Ground was broken in 2007 and Harbor’s Edge was 90 percent complete in 2012 when the developers declared bankruptcy. But then new owners came in who took the original 19 units and, working with architect John Schimenti, reformulated the building to have just 15 units, allowing for some larger units. By 2014, the updated units with new finishes and redesigned balconies were being marketed. The asking prices at the time were between $2.5 million and $6.5 million. But now, the least expensive unit is asking $1.7 million and the highest sales price fetched was $4.51 million for a penthouse.

John Wines noted that, because the project is complete and free of any debt — it is funded through investor capital rather than loans — buyers can purchase units with mortgages, which he said is not always the case when buying a brand-new condo.

“Condo financing is not quite as simple and straightforward as standard residential financing,” he said. Both the building and the buyer must qualify, he explained; banks want to know that a condominium project built in phases will succeed. “If it doesn’t get completed, that affects the values.”

“Buyers take advantage of financing because rates are low, and they are savvy and can invest elsewhere,” Bill Wines added.

Two units had sold at the preconstruction pricing in 2014, but by the time construction had finished, the market had changed, John Wines said. He also acknowledged that Harbor’s Edge suffered from an image issue because of the project’s past. He said they brought the units in line with the cost-per-square-foot average for the community. The building average is now $1,200 per square foot.

When sales did pick up, end units and lofts on the second floor proved to be the most popular. Now, three ground-floor loft-style units — not end units — are all that’s left of the original 15.

“They are not small units,” John Wines said. “They are an alternative for a single-family home for a lot of people.”

The lofts have living areas on the waterside and the bedrooms away from the water.

Bill Wines said the Harbor’s Edge product is unique: “There’s not a lot of places on the East End where you can live in a brand-new construction on the waterfront, walking distance to Main Street of a community like Sag Harbor Village, in that price category.”

Though on the harborfront, the units in the building — concrete and steel construction on pilings buried 40 feet — is above the flood plain.

In recent weeks, one of the previously sold units was resold. Unit 1A changed hands for $2.24 million. That corner unit has two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2,308 square feet of interior space and 1,016 of exterior space. It had sold in 2018 for $2.49 million.

Also on the first story, unit 1F sold for $3 million back in 2017. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo is now asking for $3.45 million on resale.

The second-story unit 2F is on the market for resale at $4.2 million. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The unit last sold in 2017 for $2.85 million. And unit 2D was sold for $2.71 million in 2016 and now the two-bedroom, three-bathroom is in contract after listing for $2.5 million with Sotheby’s.

And then there are the three units that have yet to sell. The asking prices were recently reduced: Unit 1E, with three bedrooms and four bathrooms, is now asking $2.7 million. Units 1C and 1D, which are both two-bedroom, three-bathroom condos, as listed for $1.8 million and $1.7 million, respectively.