Out
in the Hamptons, the natives are restless and
the houses are selling. Out in East Hampton, it is said that Ron
Baron, the tycoon who has a mansion on the beach
just a tad too close to the “gay” beach for his
tastes has got his place on the market for $30 million, having
paid something like $20.
Then, over in Southampton, one
hears that Linda Wachner, the
former Warnaco tycoon, has put her cozy little
cottage up for sale. I don’t know how much,
but it is definitely millions.
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Marty
Richards
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Not so far
from Ms. Wachner, over on Gin Lane, producer (“Chicago,” the
movie) Marty Richards has his party-prone
ocean-front property on the market for something like $50 million.
And just a hop skip and a jump away from Mr. Richards, Carroll (Mrs.
Milton) Petrie put her pavilion style
mansionette on the market. Then withdrew it. Then, last I heard,
she put it back on. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen million? Must be
somewhere thereabouts.
Also
in transit: Charlotte Ford is seriously considering
selling her sprawling property with its acres of manicured
lawns, gardens, pool, tennis court and all within earshot
of the pounding surf upon the sand. For $20 million. Mrs.
Ford, who besides her Manhattan residence, keeps a house
in Sun Valley, bought her house from her grandmother’s
estate more than 30 years ago. Recently she bought a parcel
on what was her mother’s last property in the village
in Southampton; an acre, where she’ll build a house
more suitable to someone whose family has grown up and
moved away and who rarely gets out to Southampton anyway.
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Charlotte
Ford
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Meanwhile
over in that neck of the woods, the Dennis
Colemans sold their great big beautiful Lake Agawam
cottage, a Stanford White creation built more than a century
ago. For how much? I don’t know; millions and millions.
They’re building something smaller, whatwith family
grown up and moved away too.
The big news for a minute there was
that Francesco Galesi sold his house on
the beach in Southampton to Calvin Klein.
This is the house that was on the market a couple of years
ago, sorta just for the helluvit, for $45 million. There
were offers then but not quite high enough for Mr. Galesi
at the time. But of course, things do change. A significant
part of Mr. Galesi’s vast wealth was tied up in a company
called WorldCom, which he had an important hand in creating,
and for which he is now reaping the whatever.
So, the sale: Mr. Klein came in, looked at the house, never even
went upstairs to see the bedrooms, and asked how much. $30 million.
He immediately countered $27 million. Mr. Galesi no doubt recalling
better times and lost opportunities, accepted on the spot. Then
Mr. Klein left and Mr. G., being the well-seasoned businessman
that he is, figured nothing is that simple and wondered if he’d
ever hear from the designer again. However, a few hours later,
the check arrived. Mr. Klein has already moved in. Just him and
his Calvins, or something like that.
Calvin Klein had a beautiful weathered shingled
cottage on the beach in East Hampton which
someone said went with the divorce from his second wife, Kelly.
So this is a brand new start and many think he will tear
the place down and replace with a design of his own creation.
Which makes sense.
The new Calvin Klein house was originally built by Henry
duPont of those duPonts, creator and owner of Winterthur.
He also built the big house next door. For his servants. This was
back sixty or seventy years ago. The houses, which sat on the dune
had French doors on both the north and the south sides so that
when the ocean got too feisty and runneth over, it could wash right
through and leave the house in place God, thank you.
As we can
see Mr. duPont’s idea worked. Mr. duPont grew old and
died and the house was bought in the late 70s, early 80s by
a technology tycoon named Barry Trupin, a
decidedly new face for (then) old (and even harrumphy) Southampton.
Mr. Trupin drove the neighbors wild when he completely ransacked
the place architecturally and turned it into a kind of Dragonwyck
with towers and turrets. Everybody thought “there goes
the neighborhood,” but then Mr. Trupin had some major
financial reversals and there went Mr. Trupin. He bailed.
Francesco Galesi bought the beginning- to-be-refurbished concoction
in its unfinished bordering on derelict state. He turned the sow’s
ear into a silk purse (and one, we now see, with a golden lining).
Among its exotica is an indoor shark’s pool. Which looks
like a great indoor swimming pool (overlooking the beach) except
it was the private domain of some sharks. Small ones of course,
but nevertheless. You’d look at it and think oh God what
if I fell in? That sort of thing.
I don’t know if Mr. Klein will be keeping the sharks. After
almost forty years in his business, he’s had probably enough
of sharks, wouldn’t you think? Most likely he’ll turn
the place into something that complements the spirit of its original
owner, Henry duPont, who was one of the world’s great connoisseurs
of art and antiques.
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