MONTAUK
Make Way for the ‘Condops’

By Ellen Keohane

The Panoramic View Hotel in Montauk will be converted into “condops” ranging in size from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet. Prices will start at $1.5 million.

(02/08/2007)    The Panoramic View Hotel in Montauk is being converted to “condops,” a cross between a condominium and a cooperative. Part of the hotel will remain open for one more summer season, before the luxury Panoramic Villas will be sold at prices starting at $1.5 million, according to Adam Manson, the president of Distinctive Ventures, a developer out of Great Neck working on the project.

    Distinctive Ventures acquired the oceanfront property through a stock transaction early this year, Mr. Manson said. “As opposed to a fee-simple land purchase, we acquired all outstanding shares of the cooperative,” he said. Mr. Manson declined to disclose the cost of the transaction.

    The original owners, who are members of the French family, are still involved with the project, Mr. Manson said. John and Ellis French will continue to be the general managers of the hotel for the summer season, he said.

    A gut renovation of two of the buildings on the 10-acre property at 272 Old Montauk Highway began about four weeks ago, Mr. Manson said. “We’re only doing renovations of the existing structures.” The first two buildings should be completed by the fall of this year, while the remaining buildings are to be completed by the spring of 2008, he said.

    In addition to the Panoramic View Hotel, the 30-year-old company is also planning a renovation of the Harborside Hotel in Westhampton, Mr. Manson said.

    The condops will be structured like a cooperative, but with condominium rules and regulations, Mr. Manson explained. Buyers will receive a proprietary lease that entitles them to own the unit. Unlike co-ops, the condops will not require board approval, he said. “The Panoramic Villas will have no underlying mortgage, hence low maintenance fees, similar to a condo.”

    The project did not need site plan approval from the East Hampton Town Planning Board because the ownership structure has not changed, said Don Sharkey, the chief building inspector for East Hampton Town. “The property is still owned under the same corporation.”

    The number of units on the property will be decreased, making the project more conforming to code, Mr. Sharkey said. “They’re combining existing units and making them larger, but decreasing the amount of units.”

    A mix of two, three, and four-bedroom single-floor villas, duplexes, and triplexes ranging in size from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet are planned, Mr. Manson said. All units will have glass walls and cathedral ceilings, wide-plank oak flooring, gas fireplaces, and high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning systems, he said.

    When completed, the property will consist of 76 units in five separate buildings with four private single-family cottages. There will be a round-the-clock concierge, an outdoor heated pool with a waterfall, an indoor fitness center, an entertainment room with a fireplace and kitchen for catering, a billiards room and sports lounge, a card room and library, and a children’s playroom, Mr. Manson said.

    “If buyers don’t have the time to decorate, they can choose from a variety of furniture packages and accessories designed by top decorators, including everything from bed linens to table cutlery in the kitchen, which will be ready for use,” Mr. Manson said.

    After next summer, longtime fans of the Panoramic View Hotel will have to find somewhere new to stay when they visit Montauk.
    “It was our favorite place,” said William Wolf, a New York City professor and writer who has stayed at the hotel for more than 30 years. Mr. Wolf, who posts reviews of his favorite vacations spots on his Web site, described the hotel, which does not accept credit cards, as reasonably priced, relatively private, and very accommodating.

    And, most important, every room had an ocean view, he said. “I’m very sad it’s closing.”