Another one at $55 million! The big real estate news this week was that another landmark property has become available in the East End market. World famous Gosman’s Dock & Restaurant in Montauk has long been a fixture on the East End and has been family owned for more than 60 years. Gosman’s, once a simple fish house and clam bar on the dock, has expanded again and again over the years growing into what locals might describe as a small-town empire. The harbor front village is set on 11 acres that include 5 retail shops, the dockside fish market, 4 restaurants, 2 motels, and multiple vacant lots. Today, the restaurant is easily the most well-known waterfront restaurant on the East End and accommodates thousands of visitors each summer as well as those who stroll the shops or come to buy fresh fish. People line up at the doors of the restaurant and are willing to stand in line for hours to get a taste of local Montauk lobster. It is one of the most lucrative businesses on the East End. Some local realtors have been shocked by the news because the family had denied plans to sell up until now. The restaurants overlook what is the largest fishing port in the country. There is also a harbor side green where concerts are held each season. The Gosmans have placed the listing with Brown Harris Stevens of East Hampton at $55 million. The question is, who has the $55 million? The price certainly narrows the list of potential buyers. Mega real estate developers have been filtering out across the East End with plans to develop high-end luxury resorts such as the project at Shepherds Neck Inn in Montauk that sold earlier this year. The oceanfront panoramic resort next to Gurney’s Inn is said to be going “luxury condo.”
The Gosman property may very well be within the budget of Ralph Lauren who has been said to be hashing about the purchase of East Hampton Point Resort in East Hampton at the very same price. Just think what Lauren’s style could do for the little fishing village! Rumors have been circulating about the Gosman’s property going up for sale since their Montauk Moorlands mansion was placed on the market about two years ago. As far as the $55 million pricetag goes, it appears it is priced to sell. As usual, only time will tell. There are so many commercial properties that are truly a part of the East End’s history and development currently on the market; so many sites changing hands that one can’t help but see it as the end of an era. Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk is also on the market as are numerous Montauk motels that have not only been listed but have already sold. There is also the landmark White House, also listed at $50 million on the pond in East Hampton, the Farmers Market in Amagansett, listed this spring and, of course, we all remember the bidding wars on the historic Villa Maria in Water Mill that drew a whopping $35 million.
On the North Fork a residential property has gone on the market at an unprecedented $22 million. More and more of late we see the high end spreading its wings onto the North Fork. The quaint, quiet and unsuspecting Fork remained fairly low-key until recently, when the successes of local vineyards really put it on the map. Realtors say that many feeling squeezed by the crowds on the South Fork have come to seek out the quiet bays and virtually unlimited acreage. Yes, there is still a lot of land and as if that is not enough of a draw, waterfront land.
The property in Peconic, a vineyard estate, is the highest priced residential property listed on the North Fork. It comes with a mind-blowing 135 acres of land and is located on the Peconic Bay. Owning this property would be equivalent to owning one’s own nature preserve, since the pristine acreage is filled with fox, deer, quail, hawks, and osprey and other wildlife. It has a bit of everything. The is a 60′ deepwater dock, a 5000 sq. ft. shingle style estate home, 19 acres of grapes, a working 1930’s gas pump and two barns. There are 14 buildings on the property in all. It offers the ultimate in seclusion and privacy. Listed with The Corcoran Group in Southold, the property can be compared with little else in its class and area.
