Some Notable and Pricey ($34 Million!) Properties Click into Contract

One of the more noteworthy listings in the past year or so was this one, a pretty house right on Sagg Pond. It was the much-loved family home of groundbreaking dancer Sono Osato, who died last December 26 at the age of 99. Last year, the property, repped by Deborah Srb at Sotheby’s, was listed asking $37 million; in March the ask was cut to $34 million. And now, still at that last ask, the property is in contract. Bespoke brought the buyer.

The site is possibly the most amazing part of this property, with a long lawn sloping down to the pond and yet close enough for an ocean view. There’s almost four acres of land with 300 feet of frontage on Sagg Pond, including a sandy beach, a tennis court and a pool.

Sono Osato was the daughter of a Japanese father and an Irish-French Canadian mother. “Sono” means garden. Ms. Osato because the first American dancer in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, an offshoot of the Ballets Russes that began after the death of Serge Diaghilev.

Niko Elmaleh, son of Sono Osato, told the WSJ, “The whole joy of living there is feeling like you’re not in 2018. There’s a sense of tradition about it.” We can see that, from the adorable butler’s pantry to the linen storage upstairs. There have been only two owners in the property’s history.

As for the 1917 house, ther are five full bathrooms and three half-baths, along with 7200 square feet of space. Congrats to the new owners!

Next up is a noteworthy new build in Sag Harbor. The project was controversial; in 2016, more than a dozen local residents complained to the Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review about the plans for this property. A new home was going to be built for the president of BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, Robert Kapito and wife Ellen. Architect Peter Cook told Behind the Hedges, “This and an adjacent property were purchased by them in the hopes of building a home for their family, but they could not build a house large enough to accommodate their expanding family. So rather than combine the properties for one home, they kept them separate and are developing them for resale.” The more expensive property, at $12 million, is still available, while 2 Harding Terrace, which was asking $5.25 million is now in contract.

Repped by William Wolff, Robin Bender, and Tal Alexander at Elliman, the property boasts a big (5550 square feet) modern house, along with a gunite pool, set on half an acre. And of course, the new owners will be just steps to the beach. Congrats to all!

And finally, a very interesting property on Shelter Island has gone into contract asking $6.5 million. Originally listed in November, this property is extremely private because it’s basically the last house on Shelter Island’s southern tip. The property comprises two plots, a separate, empty 0.37 lot across the road from the main parcel, which has an 150-foot deep water dock with electric and water hookup, and the main bit, which is 2 acres, all trimmed with white sandy beaches.

The main plot contains the house, a pool and cabana, and a small barn. The house, which was originally built in 1947 and added on to later, is probably a teardown. We adore the 1947 bits, with their knotty pine paneling,

We’ll be interested to see what’s built on the property, which is repped by Penelope Moore at Saunders. Again, congrats to all.