Tessa Carla Blog's: $18M Long Island Retreat Designed by Richard Meier Available for First Time

Tuesday, 17 November 2020

$18M Long Island Retreat Designed by Richard Meier Available for First Time

Richard Meier Long Island — Kevin Wohler

A 3-acre waterfront compound on Long Island, NY, designed by the celebrated architect Richard Meier, is on sale for the first time, for $18 million.

Meier designed the Maidman House in Sands Point, NY, in 1971 for the Maidman family, a well-known New York real estate dynasty.

The building, originally a retreat for Catholic nuns, was purchased by the Maidmans from the Brooklyn archdiocese, explains the listing agent, Bonnie Doran.

William Maidman founded Townhouse Management Company. His son, Richard Maidman, was the company’s second-generation leader. He spent a lot of time at this home before passing away in 2017. A Maidman family trust named Steamboat Landing is the current owner.

“The Maidmans were very close to Richard Meier,” Doran says.

Meier is best-known for his iconic, large-scale designs, including the Getty Center in Los Angeles. White is often the dominant color in his works, and this home is no exception.

“Primarily, he did much more commercial, industrial buildings, art museums. He actually built this around where the retreat house was,” Doran says. “It’s such a statement of the time, and he has such talent. It’s just a feel-good structure.”

Aerial view of property in Sands Point, NY
Kevin Wohler

The renovations in the 1970s included gutting everything inside the building except for the main staircase. Meier kept the foundation, basement, exterior load-bearing walls, and roof, but redesigned the rest of the structure.

The resulting home measures 4,623 square feet, with five bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms.

Four of the bedrooms are on the third floor, which includes one whimsical feature.

“[There is a] sitting area where you can open the door and go right down a slide to the outside,” Doran says, adding that she hasn’t been down the slide yet, because she has been wearing a skirt every time she has been at the property.

The slide corkscrews down all three stories and is considered a formal egress option from the third floor.

“The children have such fond memories of going down that slide,” Doran says. “I can’t wait to go down that slide too!”

Door to slide on third floor
Kevin Wohler

The main living space on the first floor features high ceilings and an abundance of windows. On the second floor is the master bedroom, with separate dressing rooms.

In addition to the main house, the property includes several other structures.

“When you first enter the property, there is a carriage house with two apartments—a three-bedroom unit, plus a studio apartment,” Doran says. “Then you go down the hill a little, and there is a five-car garage with a lift in it and an attic.”

There are also tennis courts, a shed, an ice building, and a boathouse.

“They built the most wonderful boathouse. It’s like a guesthouse, literally on the beach,” Doran explains. “It’s two stories, and you feel like you’re in the water.”

The boathouse has two bathrooms, a Murphy bed on the first floor, and a bedroom on the second floor.

Back in the main house, the kitchen is white and has been recently redone in the architectural style, with industrial appliances.

Doran says the home would make a terrific weekend retreat or a fantastic full-time residence. Located in what’s known as the Gold Coast of New York, the compound is with a short commute of Manhattan.

“There’s a direct Long Island Railroad straight in. With an express train, you could be there in 25 minutes,” Doran explains.

The property is also right next to the Village Club of Sands Point, with its 18-hole golf course and other amenities.

The house is move-in ready, but also has room for personal touches.

“Everybody’s going to want to do something to it, because it’s way back to the ’70s,” Doran says. “But hopefully, we’re going to find somebody that’s going to do it in the same taste and keep the authenticity of [Meier’s] design.”