“Glass Cube,” a modern house in East Hampton’s woodsy northwest area, has spent a long time on and off both the sales and the rental markets. Designed in 2006 by Argentinian architect Jorge O. Sosa, the house is simple and minimal, which makes a perfect backdrop for displaying art.
The home’s ability to showcase art was, indeed, the reason the house made headlines in 2015. The owners of the home caught wind that their tenant, a 28-year-old gallerist from Manhattan who had shelled out $45,000 for a 30-day summer rental, planned to stage art shows at the house, not to mention throw raging parties. The owners were concerned about about town codes and disturbing neighbors, so they hastily terminated the gallerist’s lease, just hours before he arrived.
With no place to go, the gallerist wound up spending the night at a Comfort Inn off the Long Island Expressway, which was definitely not the luxury circumstances he paid for, and he wasn’t happy about it. The owners and the gallerist quickly worked out some kind of a deal that allowed the gallerist to move in. Alas, tensions continued and the owners ended up locking the gallerist out and terminating the lease after three weeks. Mad as a hornet, the gallerist sued for $71,500, the full cost of the lease plus another $20,000 for “damages to his reputation, image and credibility.” (No word on the resolution of the case).
Well, that was then, this is now. And now, the property is for sale again. The $3.3 million ask is a chunk more than the almost $3 million asking price from when it was on the market in the fall of 2015, after the fiasco with the gallerist. The property is listed with Michael Brennan at Douglas Elliman.
Spanning 4,050 square feet on three quarters of an acre, the house extends beyond the jewel box frontage to a less transparent adjoining structure with a pool out back. There are four bedrooms and four bathrooms, plus two half-baths.
The house embodies a particular brand of minimalism quite well. From the outside, the glass walls are its most striking feature, encompassing two sides of the main living space, and inside, the double-height living room brings views from the surrounding landscape right into the house. (Back in 2015, the house had a hot tub in the living room, which was a very Al Goldstein touch, but it has since been removed.)
The dining room has a fireplace, while the kitchen offers one-inch thick glass countertops, which is a nice change of pace from the usual granite or marble, along with a steamer, double ovens, and two sinks. The second-floor master suite features a wood burning stove, which can be rotated to face the adjoining office space, and there’s also a private balcony and a large bathroom with a freestanding soaking tub.
Outside, the pool is framed with Japanese river rock coping and dense woods that ensure absolute privacy. There’s also an outdoor shower and a hot tub.
The house is close to Hands Creek, which leads into Three Mile Harbor, and that means the new owner should invest in some kayaks and canoes for summertime fun.
