Hotel James Is Sold
The "For Sale" sign outside the long-vacant Hotel James in Water Mill is gone, after many years. The one-time nightclub and longtime landmark on Montauk Highway was sold last month to Konner Development Inc., a Bridgehampton development company.
Carol Konner, the principal in the company, said she had no plans yet for the stately turn-of-the-century house or the 10.5 acres behind it stretching to Mecox Bay. The "Konner Development" sign in front of the house, with phone numbers posted, "is merely a sign that indicates it has been sold," she said.
Ms. Konner declined to discuss the details of the purchase, and local real estate brokers were unsure of the asking price.
That the commercial use of the James will be resurrected is unlikely, since the residentially-zoned parcel has sat idle for so long. Past commercial operations on the site enjoyed "pre-existing nonconforming" status, because they began before zoning laws were enacted, and continued.
It takes only one year of inactivity for a nonconforming use to be abandoned.
Subdivision could also be difficult. A lot split proposed in the '80s was derailed after archeologists said there might be Indian artifacts buried on the site.
Thought to have been built around 1890, the house served as a private home for many years before it was converted to commercial use. After World War II, it was Paton's Wild Duck Inn.
Many Incarnations
Thomas James, a retired mortician, bought the house as an investment in 1953. During his ownership, it went through numerous incarnations, including Frank Law's Fourth Estate, the Mecox Inn, the Plantation, and Mitty's General Store.
Mr. James finally stopped leasing and opened a nightclub on the site in 1962. Called the Hotel James, the club became one of the East End's hottest, spotlighting big-name rock and soul acts such as Wilson Pickett and Etta James.
Mr. James ran the club into the 1980s before deciding to pack it in. Stalled in his subdivision plans, he put the property on the market.
Konner Development
The purchase of the hotel is the latest of a string of recent real-estate activities in which Ms. Konner has been involved. Konner Development this year renovated the former Bridgehampton Water Company building on Main Street into new office and retail space.
Konner has now proposed a new 2,500-square-foot retail/office building on a vacant parcel between the Water Company building and the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, a proposal that has drawn criticism from the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee. The company is also involved in several proposed subdivisions, including a plan to divide the 28-acre Babinski Farm on Mecox Road, Water Mill, into 17 half-acre house lots.
Ms. Konner, who lives in Southampton, has been active in real estate in the area for 25 years. She was a partner in the Konner-Steilen car dealership in East Hampton until the dealership closed earlier this year.