A Hamptons Spec House on the Site of a Former Sports Car Racing Track Is Asking $25 Million

The racetrack was founded by the Bridgehampton Road Races Corporation in 1953, when a local street-racing accident left three spectators injured and a driver dead, according to the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group, a local group of racing enthusiasts. The circuit opened in 1957, according to the group’s website.

However, the racetrack fell into disrepair and held its last Trans Am race in 1970, though it continued to hold small, regional and amateur events and car clubs. Mr. Rubin said as a young car enthusiast in 1981, he spent $225,000 to buy shares of the corporation, blocking a sale to a developer who planned to build over 100 homes on the property. Mr. Rubin’s 15,000 shares were about 3% to 5% of the company at the time, he said. 

Mr. Rubin has since gained a majority ownership in the company, he said. Though he aimed to preserve the site’s racing tradition, he said, local regulations and noise complaints led him to convert the land into a golf course called The Bridge, which opened in 2002. He deeded roughly 150 acres of open space to the town of Southampton and had the course rezoned with 70 acres set aside as 20 residential lots, he said. Eight lots have been presold to friends and business partners, including Mr. Ferris. 

The home listing for $25 million is the first of the planned spec homes to break ground. The lot is about 4 acres, with views of the golf course and Little Peconic and Noyack bays. The house will span around 5,200 square feet with an elevator. The main living space, on the second floor, will have a dining area, an open-concept kitchen and a great room with a marble slab fireplace. 

A rooftop patio will have an outdoor kitchen, and plans call for a terrace off the second floor. The grounds will include a heated granite infinity pool, a covered outdoor patio, and a deck with a barbecue. A pool house is slated to have a kitchenette and bathroom, said Mr. Vichinsky.

“We prioritized places that are conducive to impromptu gatherings,” said Mr. Ferris.

The purchaser can apply to join the adjacent golf club, which costs $1.5 million plus $40,000 a year in dues, according to sources. Membership includes access to the golf course, tennis courts, a tennis pavilion, a shared 12-room guesthouse, a concierge, landscaping services, art installations and events, said Mr. Vichinsky. 

The average luxury home in the Hamptons sold for almost $9.3 million in the third quarter of 2021, up more than 20% from the same time last year. Meanwhile, inventory fell more than 40% compared with the third quarter of 2020, according to a report by Douglas Elliman. 

“We’re anticipating demand in the marketplace going forward, maybe to the point of frustration, because you’re not seeing the level of incoming property on the market that we were in the past,” said Mr. Vichinsky.