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    Movin’ Out: Billy Joel’s Waterfront Long Island Estate Is Back on the Market for $50 Million

    Almost a year-and-a-half after it first hit the market with a $49 million price tag and then topped off a lengthy multimillion-dollar renovation, Billy Joel’s longtime New York residence in the Long Island enclave of Centre Island has popped up for sale again, this time with a slightly boosted ask. The musical superstar is now seeking a smidge under $50 million for the 26-acre spread, which is listed by Nancy Cuite and Lisa Lavelle of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty.

    Nestled amid a peninsula tucked between Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor, the waterfront property was acquired by the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and pianist in 2002 and subsequently named MiddleSea, a nod to its locale in the middle of the sea and a play on the note of middle C, the first key typically learned by beginning piano players. Assembled over time on adjoining parcels, the compound features a 20,000-square-foot main home plus several additional structures—all with access to 2,000 feet of private shoreline boasting a dock and a boat ramp.

    The 26-acre compound rests alongside 2,000 feet of shoreline.

    Frank Urso

    Completed in the early 1990s but evoking the opulence of the Gilded Age, the red-brick main residence has five en-suite bedrooms and a whopping 11 baths. It is adorned throughout with a mix of hardwood and marble floors, 30-foot ceilings, an elevator, and nautical-inspired decor. Among the highlights are a soaring entry foyer displaying a black-and-white checkerboard marble floor and a grand wrought iron-railed staircase, as well as fireside living and dining rooms, two kitchens, and a primary suite equipped with dual closets and baths. Elsewhere is a mahogany-clad library with a stone fireplace, a bay-view parlor, a ballroom, a spa, and a wine cellar.

    Outdoors, the grounds are laced with rolling lawns, expansive gardens and meandering pathways. They host a waterfall, not one but two swimming pools, a gazebo, and a pergola-topped dining area. Secondary buildings include a five-bedroom gatehouse, a three-bedroom Malibu-style beach house and a three-bedroom guesthouse sporting a two-lane bowling alley and a four-car garage. There’s also a new maintenance building, while an on-site helipad makes for quick trips into Manhattan or out to the Hamptons.

    Amenities filtered throughout the property include a two-lane bowling alley.

    Frank Urso

    Per The New York Times, a major reason the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is selling the mansion he first saw while dredging oysters as a teen is the property’s hefty $567,686 annual taxes. “It’s not cheap, let’s put it that way,” he said. “As successful, I’ve been financially, yeah, that’s, you know, that’s a lot.” In addition to his for-sale Centre Island home, records show the 75-year-old New York native also owns homes in Sag Harbor and Florida.

    Click here for more photos of Billy Joel’s home.

    Frank Urso More

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    Bethenny Frankel’s Longtime Home in the Hamptons Is Hitting the Market for $6 Million

    Now that Bethenny Frankel has settled into a $5.4 million summer home on New York’s Shinnecock Bay—where she’s been seen toodling around town with her daughter Bryn in a vintage Bronco and is just steps away from easily indulging in her beloved pastime of paddleboarding via a private beach—The Real Housewives of New York City alum and Skinnygirl Cocktails mogul has no need for her other Hamptons residence. So, she’s decided to hoist her longtime digs in the hamlet of Bridgehampton on the market with Noble Black and Erica Grossman of Douglas Elliman, asking a smidge under $6 million.

    Records show Frankel paid $2 million for the Lumber Lane house overlooking a vast nature preserve back in 2013 and then doled out an additional $650,000 for a neighboring property with a small home. Per Behind the Hedges, this was one of the first major purchases she made on her own after she sold Skinnygirl to Fortune Brands’ Beam Global in 2011 for an estimated $100 million.

    The main house and a guest cottage are nestled amid beautifully landscaped gardens that adjoin 40 acres of open fields.

    Rise Media

    The roughly 1.4-acre property is secluded behind gates and hedges and showcased by a shingle-clad main home boasting four bedrooms and three baths in roughly 2,500 square feet of two-level living space accented throughout with honey-hued hardwood floors and designer finishes. There’s also a detached one-car garage, plus a separate one-bedroom, one-bath guest cottage that spans about 600 square feet and has its own kitchen and living room.

    Extensively remodeled during Frankel’s tenure, the charming main house features a living room sporting a fireplace with a brick surround and access to a bluestone patio, as well as an upgraded kitchen outfitted with bespoke millwork, an eat-in island, top-tier Viking appliances, and an accompanying dining area. Just off the kitchen is a cozy sunroom, while an en-suite bedroom on the main floor is currently being used as a den.

    The open-concept interiors feature a living room that connects to a dining area and kitchen.

    Rise Media

    Four more bedrooms can be found upstairs, including a primary suite that comes complete with a balcony and a spa-like bath spotlighted by dual vanities and a vintage-style soaking tub. Outdoors, the picturesque grounds are laced with gardens and host a pool and spa, a poolhouse with a half-bath, a kitchen setup, and plenty of spots ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining.

    In addition to her Hamptons homes, the 53-year-old New York native also maintains a primary residence in Greenwich, Conn., along with pied-à-terres in Manhattan and South Florida. The avid real estate investor, who joined former Million Dollar Listing agent Fredrik Eklund in 2018 for the Bravo show Bethenny and Fredrik, also has bought and sold numerous homes in both Greenwich and the Hamptons, including a historic Bridgehampton home known as Morning Glory that went for nearly $2.3 million back in 2020.

    Click here for more photos of Bethenny Frankel’s Bridgehampton home.

    Rise Media More

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    The ‘Banksy of Floral Design’ Is Selling His West Palm Beach Bungalow for $2.9 Million

    New York-based florist Lewis Miller is known for his energetic, brightly colored floral creations, and the interiors of his home in Florida are certainly reflective of his imaginative eye, affinty for saturated color, and deft mixing and matching of eye-catching patterns. The artistic dynamo, a.k.a. the “Banksy of floral design,” is the creator of the Flower Flash—an improvisational concept in which everyday items in the public sphere, like garbage cans and phone booths, blossom into living, large-scale works of art. 

    Miller’s Sunshine State digs at 333 Pilgrim Road in West Palm Beach’s trendy SoSo neighborhood have been hoisted onto the market for a cool $2.9 million with John and Lisa Cregan of Sotheby’s International Realty. The near-century-old Spanish Mediterranean bungalow dates, built in 1926, is being offered up fully furnished, so the next owner will get to keep all of the cool antiques and charming decor. And go figure, there’s not a floral arrangement in sight! Instead, you’ll find tons of leafy greenery and lots of… birds? 

    RELATED: A Stylish Country Club Estate in South Florida Seeks $4 Million

    The teal-colored library is adorned with a series of ornithological prints hung above the striped sofa.

    Flylisted for Sotheby’s International Realty

    “I definitely wanted it to feel congruent with Florida and Palm Beach without being typical,” Miller told Palm Beach Illustrated in 2022. “The colors are also unusual with the greens and tobacco. I wanted it to have a masculine vibe, a kind of Ernest Hemingway style. Obviously, I’m a florist, so I love flora and fauna, and I try to incorporate birds in every room to pull in this English country look. It’s a true calico cat, but it feels Palm Beach without being pink and green.” 

    According to the magazine, Miller bought the spread sight unseen in September 2021; he then put the entire place through a massive renovation. “The proportions were great and so is the overall vibe of the house,” he explained to the New York Post. “I really lucked out on the timing. I bought it in the nick of time. Anything of interest was being snapped up or was priced so high that it wasn’t attainable—and I love a project.” In addition to the three-bedroom main residence, there’s a separate guesthouse containing another couple of bedrooms. 

    The wood floors in the kitchen are painted in a classic black-and-white checkerboard pattern.

    Flylisted for Sotheby’s International Realty

    RELATED: An Instagram Celeb Lists His South Florida House for $4.2 Million

    Despite its many updates, the abode still sports a slew of period details, such as a curved staircase, elaborately carved archways, and a wraparound second-floor veranda boasting the original Spanish cement tile. Of course, Miller couldn’t help but add his own flair with hand-painted wood flooring in many rooms, a kitchen sheathed in shimmering emerald green tiles, and a plethora of built-in bookcases. Out back is a petite, grassy yard and a two-story carriage house that holds two self-contained apartments, one on each floor. Both are equipped with living rooms, kitchens, and full baths. 

    So after all the effort to renovate and decorate, why is Miller parting ways with the West Palm Beach pad after only three years? “As much as I tried to move to Florida, I can’t leave New York,” he told The Post. “I don’t need a house and extra work and chaos. Maybe later. I will probably rent for a while.” 

    Click here to see more photos of 333 Pilgrim Road. 

    Flylisted for Sotheby’s International Realty

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    The Co-Founder of Woodstock Just Listed His Longtime Hudson Valley Home for $2.4 Million

    Move over, Graceland. This newly listed Hudson Valley compound was the longtime home of the co-creator of Woodstock, Michael Lang. 

    Listed for $2.4 million with Chris Pomeroy and Nancy Felcetto of Brown Harris Stevens, the music industry icon snapped up the property in Mount Tremper, New York, some 45 years ago before he passed away in 2022 at the age of 77. The 17-acre estate, dubbed Happy Brooks and about 40 miles from where the legendary music festival was held, was built out between 1929 and 1933 for artist G. Adolph Anderson. Architect A.M. Bedell was tapped for the design, which includes three stately stone structures: a main house, a two-bedroom guesthouse, and a separate cottage.

    RELATED: A Charming French-Style Chateau in New York’s Hudson Valley Hits the Market for $12.3 Million

    The double-height great room inside the main house.

    Jonathan Simons -HudsonHomeTours.com

    “There have always been musicians and painters and sculptors and writers that have either lived there or stayed there or created there,” Pomeroy told Mansion Global. The bucolic spread, now being offered up by Lang’s family, comprises park-like grounds complete with wildflower fields, a large pond with an art island, an oval cement swimming pool, and a three-stall barn. 

    “Once you cross the gate, you’re in a very private world of your own,” Pomeroy added. The four-bed main pad is entered via a double-height great room. This wing of the abode also holds an office, an upper-level bedroom, and a library. Elsewhere, a central foyer opens up to a formal dining room overlooking the mountains and a county kitchen equipped with a breakfast area, a wood stove, and a built-in bread oven. Additional highlights include a reading room with stained glass windows and a dramatic conservatory with a soaring 24-foot glass ceiling. 

    RELATED: Inside a Renovated 158-Year-Old Farmhouse Nestled Within Hudson Valley

    The primary suite features wood paneling and a wooded view.

    Jonathan Simons -HudsonHomeTours.com

    Across the way, you’ll find the guest house, decked out with an oversized living room, a dining area, a kitchen, and a den sporting a large bluestone fireplace. The latter is also decorated with “a striking built-in collection of Fu dogs and woodcarvings on gilded plaques collected from [Lang’s] travels.” 

    The famous Woodstock Music and Art Fair was originally held on a farm in Bethel, New York from August 15-18, 1969. Lang, a 24-year-old concert promoter at the time, relocated the festival to Woodstock, where he joined forces with Artie Kornfeld, Joel Rosenman, and John Roberts. Today, the event is gearing up to celebrate its 55th anniversary.

    Click here to see more photos of Happy Brooks.  

    Jonathan Simons -HudsonHomeTours.com

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    The Former President of J.Crew Relists His Renovated Hamptons Retreat for $6.8 Million

    In July of 2018, real estate broker David Granville and his partner Jeffrey Pfeifle, a retired fashion exec who once served as the president of J.Crew, hoisted their longtime Hamptons home onto the market for $5.9 million. The listing was later taken down, and now the couple is attempting to sell their Water Mill residence for a second time, and now they’re asking a cool $6.75 million for the sumptuous pad. 

    Granville and Pfeifle acquired the property at 204 Upper Seven Ponds Road back in 2008 for $4.3 million and gave the place a maximalist redesign. The shingle-style home was originally built in 2003 and features seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms in a generous 6,000 square feet of living space. “This estate truly offers the best of luxury living and high style in the Hamptons,” notes the listing, which is being repped by Granville, in addition to his Corcoran colleague Mala Sander. 

    The voluminous great room spills out to a covered dining patio overlooking the manicured grounds.

    Media Hamptons

    The duo’s Long Island oasis sits on just shy of three acres of land. The grounds are complete with a gated entrance, a dramatic long driveway, and an apple orchard. There’s even potential to add a tennis court, too. Once inside the main house, you’ll notice the digs are an eclectic mash-up of Nantucket and Palm Beach styles. First, you’re welcomed by a grand foyer and great room. The latter is decked out with soaring cathedral ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a cozy fireplace. There’s another fire feature in the den as well, plus a full bar and coffered ceilings.  

    A boldly appointed den features a stone fireplace, a full bar and marble-like trompe l’oeil carpeting.

    Media Hamptons

    Elsewhere, the kitchen is any chef’s dream, equipped with granite countertops and top-of-the-line appliances. And when it’s time to turn in, the primary suite privately occupies its own wing on the first floor with dual bathrooms and a dedicated sitting area.

    Outside, the estate is surrounded by lush gardens, rolling lawns, and decorative fountains. There are plenty of green spaces to hang by or for entertaining, including a sprawling covered deck that can seat up to 30 guests comfortably. There’s also a 50-foot-long swimming pool, a chic cabana, a pool house, and an outbuilding that’s currently configured as a gym. 

    Over the years, Granville and Pfeifle have listed their home for rent at a rate of $110,000 from August to Labor Day, a relative bargain compared to a newly built home in the Water Mill area that was asking $1.2 million for the Memorial Day to Labor Day summer season or $1 million from July to Labor Day, a steep amount that tracks with the current Hamptons rental market. 

    Click here to see more photos of 204 Upper Seven Ponds Road.  

    Media Hamptons

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    Sylvester Stallone’s Former Upstate New York Home Can Be Yours for $4.3 Million

    Sylvester Stallone and, later, Vogue food columnist and cookbook author Barbara Kafka once called this sun-filled modernist house in upstate New York home, and now it can be yours for $4.3 million. Located at 40 High Ridge Road in Garrison, New York, and built in 1969, the flat-roofed home was recently gut-renovated by the Brooklyn-based design firm Madderlake.

    The “Rocky” star owned the river-view residence in the late 1980s, and Kafka picked it up in 1999 and lived there until 2015. The current owner is Shea Spencer, founder of the management agency Artist Commissions; she rents out the property for photoshoots with major brands, including Marc Jacobs and Bergdorf Goodman, among others. And it’s easy to see why.

    Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass allow for an intimate relationship to the natural surroundings.

    Houlihan Lawrence and Anne Day Photography

    The 7,000-square-foot home is perched on a grassy hill with stunning 180-degree views of the Hudson River and the undulating landscape of the Hudson Valley. Though it’s more than five decades old, there’s little indication of the home’s original design: the four-bedroom and three-and-a-half-bath home has been remade into a minimalist haven with pared-back details, neutral colors, and natural materials that let the magnificent views take center stage. Every room is lined with oversized windows or sliding glass doors that flood the home with natural light and directly connect you with the lush surroundings.

    The open-plan great room features a dining area and a serene, fireside lounge that connects to a wraparound terrace. The nearby kitchen is a chef’s dream, with flame maple cabinetry, butcher block counters, a vintage farmhouse-style sink, luxe fixtures, state-of-the-art appliances, and a pronounced oculus skylight that ensures light pours into the room all day long. Windows overlook the backyard, so you never feel too far from the outdoors. The bedrooms are filtered throughout three levels, and the tranquil primary suite has access to a private terrace overlooking the river.

    The indoor pool is housed in a separate wing constructed of glass and concrete.

    Houlihan Lawrence and Anne Day Photography

    The lower level features a media room with terrazzo-style concrete floors and a wood-burning fireplace enhanced by a custom maple mantel; a hotel-like sauna and spa-inspired bathroom; and a flexible space that could easily be converted into a state-of-the-art home gym, movie theater, or hobby studio.

    There’s also an office and a massive indoor pool that connects directly to the spacious backyard. Outside, there’s ample lawn space, a Zen-inspired garden and terraces dotted with built-in benches and sculpted plantings. Given its west-facing orientation and elevated perch, it’s easy to imagine the epic year-round sunsets that can seen from nearly every room in the house as well as from the exterior living and entertaining areas. 

    Click here for more photos of Sylvester Stallone’s former home in upstate New York.

    Houlihan Lawrence and Anne Day Photography More

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    Drop Out in High Style at the $65 Million Hitchcock Estate in New York’s Hudson Valley

    In 1963, clinical psychologist and pioneering psychedelic drug proponent Timothy Leary rented a huge house on a vast estate in the historic Hudson Valley village of Millbrook, which dates to before the American Revolution and ranks as one of the wealthiest enclaves in the state of New York. The almost 2,100-acre property had recently been acquired by brothers Billy and Tommy Hitchcock, members of one of the United States’ wealthiest families. The LSD advocate stayed five years, during which the estate was reportedly the target of drug raids.

    Still owned by the Hitchcock family, the storied property has recently come available with a price tag of $65 million. Should it go for anywhere near the asking price, it will totally obliterate the standing record as the highest residential sale in the Millbrook area, which currently stands at just under $19 million.

    The Victorian mansion’s 38 rooms include a dining room wrapped in a gold jacquard wall covering.

    RELATED: An Architect Transformed This Hudson Valley Home for Himself. Now It Can Be Yours For $2.5 Million.

    Originally assembled over a period of almost 30 years beginning in 1889 from a handful of farms by German-born gas tycoon Charles F. Dieterich, a founder of Union Carbide, the vast property and its main house came to be known as Daheim. The estate was later owned by Standard Oil president and chairman Walter C. Teagle, who sold it in 1963 for a mere $500,000—nope, that’s not a typo, folks—to the Hitchcock brothers, heirs to the Mellon family oil and banking. Billy Hitchcock, who has long lived in Texas, told The Wall Street Journal that it was his sister Peggy who invited Leary to the Millbrook estate; he claimed she had a romantic relationship with Leary.

    Still owned by the Hitchcock family, the property’s mostly wooded acreage includes two lakes, one spanning 45 acres and the other 60, along with a 38-room Victorian mansion, a smaller (but still very spacious), single-story residence known as “the bungalow,” and numerous other residences and outbuildings.

    The four-story Victorian, originally designed by James E. Ware in the late 1800s, was much expanded during Dieterich’s time and spans almost 15,000 square feet. The house fell into a state of neglect, but over the last few years it has seen numerous restoration efforts and upgrades overseen by a local historian. Today, the public rooms still showcase high ceilings and ornate fireplaces, elaborate wood paneling, a carved wooden staircase, and stained-glass windows. Among the ten bedrooms is a two-room suite connected by a shared sitting room. There are also staff quarters. 

    The 2,100-acre estate’s secondary residence is a 10,000-square-foot bungalow designed by Addison Mizner.

    RELATED: A Charming French-Style Chateau in New York’s Hudson Valley Hits the Market for $12.3 Million

    The low-slung, elegantly proportioned bungalow measures about 10,000 square feet and sits on a slight rise above a swimming pool; it was commissioned by Dieterich and designed by famed architect Addison Mizner, who is best known for the Mediterranean mansions he designed in the early 20th century.

    Other buildings sprinkled around the property include a bowling alley housed in a stone building; several Bavarian-style structures that include a gate house; a three-bedroom caretaker’s cottage; a carriage house with two apartments for guests or staff; and an extensive stone-built equestrian and farm complex. 

    The listing is held by Heather Croner of Sotheby’s International Realty.

    Click here for more photos of The Hitchcock Estate. More