FROM THE HEARTH
ization (from $1.7 million, two of 79 units left; Bish
opsPonds.com); Montauk’s The Residences at Gurney’s from Gurney’s resort co-owner and developer George Filopoulos, which opened this past Memorial Day (from $4 million, six of 12 units left; LiveGurneys.
com); Bridgehampton’s Barn & Vine from Continental Pinewood Development Partners, launched in 2014 (from $2.95 million; 14 homes and lots of 37 left; BarnAndVineHomes.com); and Sag Harbor’s Watchcase Factory from Cape Advisors (from $2.72 million, 80 percent of 63 units sold; WatchcaseFactory.com).
These relatively affordable options include perks from snow removal to personal chefs to maintenance for things like burst pipes. And being close to town (take the Watchcase, a block off of Main Street) means socializing and shopping are non-issues.
“I was a little afraid I’d be lonely,” says Marilyn Goldberg, 70, who bought at Bishops Pond, just outside the Village of Southampton, in November 2015. The art and design entrepreneur, who also owns two summer rental homes and two city apartments, says she and her husband found “people were coming out [here] who were summer people before. ... We’ve even been cross-country skiing on the beach! It’s a healthy life.”
“About 10 percent of Bishops Pond is year-round residents,” says Steven Dubb, principal at Beechwood. “They leave, come back and find the house the way they left it.”
Watchcase is also “designed to be yearround,” says Nina Kaminer, president of p.r. firm Nike Communications, who with husband Allen Cohen bought there in 2015. “There’s someone to help carry packages. The lobby fireplace is roaring.”
Kaminer and Cohen, who live in the Financial District, had owned a summer house. “Every weekend we had an issue,” says Kaminer, 56. “There was pool main- tenance and landscaping, exterminators. [After] buying here, we never looked back.”
The Watchcase, a formerly abandoned Bulova watch factory, has Dumbo-esque apartments with oversized windows, 13-foot beamed ceilings, high-end appliances and terraces. Its grand but cozy lobby includes a treatand-wine room, plus there’s a fitness center and a staff including a concierge and live-in manager. (Summers, soak in the heated pool.)
At the Residences at Gurney’s, a sleek renovation of the Panoramic View motel, condo owners have full access to the resort and spa, as well many other amenities. But the biggest draw? “You can see and smell the waves,” Filopoulos say, “but don’t have the obligations that [come with] buying on the ocean, which generally is an enormous price tag.”
You don’t need to buy a home to enjoy the off-season. “The rental drop is radical,” says Enzo Morabito of Douglas Elliman.
For instance, a house that typically rents for $100,000 a month over the summer can cost $5,000 a month November through May, according to Douglas Elliman data. On the luxe end, a 6,600-squarefoot house at 10 Pen Craig in Quogue South that asks $195,000 from Memorial to Labor days asks just $55,000 more for the entire year.
The rise in full-time living actually began post-9/11, brokers say, when families were anxious to get out of the city. Shop and restaurant owners began responding to the demand.
“We have definitely had more clients over the last 10 years walking through the doors in the depths of winter,” says Zoe Hoare-Mead, owner of English Country Antiques in Bridgehampton ( ECAntiques.com).
In fact, being there winters can be a sign of insider status. Carol Covell, general manager of The 1770 House Restaurant & Inn ( 1770House.com), says while she’s seeing more year-round visitors, “locals [know] that best time of year begins after Labor Day.” Hamptonites Alec Baldwin and Jimmy Fallon are among the regulars who dine there during deep freezes.
Others catching on include the married part-owners of popular beachside restaurant Navy Beach in Montauk (closed off-season), Leyla Marchetto and Franklin Ferguson, who bought a house there in 2012.
“We’ve let go of Manhattan,” Marchetto, 37, says. “We can walk to town. We have beautiful sunny days on the beach. It really is awesome.”
“We’ve even been cross-country skiing on the beach! It’s a healthy life.” —MarilynGoldberg,Southampton