Threat Of Sagaponack Historic House Demolition Deescalates

Talks of demolishing a pre-Revolutionary War farmhouse in Sagaponack have wound down.

The owner of the home, John Hedges, agreed this week to withdraw an application to tear down the house if his efforts to build a new modern home next to the farmhouse are supported by village officials.

The destruction of the former home of Deacon David Hedges—which was built in 1775 to house one of the delegates to the state convention of New York that was responsible for ratifying the U.S. Constitution—had been proposed to the Sagaponack Village Architecture and Historic Review Board by Mr. Hedges, a distant descendant from Charlottesville, Virginia.

He had first made an application to the village in March 2017 for a variance to build a second residential structure on the property, but zoning laws restrict Sagaponack properties from housing two dwellings on the same lot, and the application was withdrawn.

A second filing, in May 2017, sought a variance to allow the owner’s limited liability company to divide the 141,464-square-foot parcel into two lots—36,764 square feet, to house the historic farmhouse, and 104,700 square feet, intended for a new development. Two separate buyers would be able to purchase the property. But that too was withdrawn by request of Mr. Hedges.

The entire property is now on the market for $11.95 million. The proposed demolition in July was seen by many in Sagaponack as an attempt to pressure the Village Zoning Board of Appeals, which was hesitant to allow either two dwellings on the one lot or a subdivision.

Mr. Hedges’s tone changed at the Architecture and Historic Review Board’s meeting on Friday, August 17.

“We have spent the past month looking at the options in order to retain the old house and incorporate changes to the property,” Mr. Hedges said. He offered to withdraw the demolition application if the ARB recommends to the ZBA that it approves the appropriate variances to subdivide the parcel, or allows for the construction of a second modern home on the property—then the three-story historic home would be saved.

Mr. Hedges contended that it would take “substantial expense” to retrofit the 18th century home as an accessory structure to a modern home. “But the only way forward I see is to save this house,” he said, adding that two separate lots would be his preferred approach.

A formal site plan has not been submitted for 414 Hedges Lane.

“I am personally relieved that the house is not going to be torn down,” board member Pingree Louchheim said.

Tom White, the board’s chairman, noted that while Mr. Hedges can expect a resolution containing the ARB’s recommendations at the next meeting on September 24, the ZBA could still go another way.

“We look at the code differently,” Mr. White said. “Ours is based on historical review. But our recommendation will set an example of which they should follow.”