Upgrades planned for Vanderbilt Museum waterfront

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium in Centerport — which began as a summer home for William K. Vanderbilt II more than a century ago — could see a more complete return to the splendor of its early days under the county's latest restoration plans. 

Those plans include restoring the boathouse and seaplane hangar on the historic property, once Vanderbilt's "Eagle's Nest" estate, in addition to a long-term transformation, estimated at $46.8 million, to the estate's Northport Harbor waterfront.

When all is complete, the estate could include a waterfront with a boardwalk, cafe, restoration and improvements to the superintendent’s cottage, and interior and exterior renovations to the planetarium building, according to county documents.

The county legislature approved appropriating $1 million for a comprehensive design plan for the waterfront on Tuesday. It's the second step in the multimillion-dollar idea to transform the waterfront, said Legis. Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport), whose district includes the property.

Earlier this year, the legislature approved $300,000 for a feasibility study for the waterfront plan, she said. That study has not been completed, she said.

“These are all just ideas, nothing is set,” Bontempi said. “You have a whole stretch of waterfront, and the plan is to build a boardwalk and possibly use the seaplane hangar as an educational space or museum.”

The $46.8 million has been earmarked in the 2025-27 capital budget to restore the museum property, Bontempi said. She said the cost of the final plan could be far less, and the county will be applying for state and federal grants to offset it.

The Little Neck Road property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was established in 1910 as the summer home for the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the museum's website said.

Originally a small English-style cottage, it was transformed over the ensuing 30 years into a 24-room Spanish-Revival mansion, the website said. The architects of the home also included museum space to display the thousands of natural history and cultural specimens that William K. Vanderbilt II collected, according to the site.

Steve Gittelman, a Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum trustee and former board president, said the boathouse and hangar have been closed for decades. He said opening the waterfront with restored buildings and public access would complete a visit to the museum.

“It would give a visit balance,” he said. “It would bring it all together to give a full feeling for the estate, planetarium, the mansion — rather than just a piece.”

The county is also moving ahead with some maintenance projects. On Tuesday, officials appropriated a $1.25 million bond to pay for a new roof at the planetarium. 

“It’s been leaking for a decade, and they have been plugging in holes, but now it’s at the point they have to replace the roof,” Bontempi said.

Also on Tuesday, county officials also appropriated a $50,000 bond to repave a brick walkway on the grounds, Bontempi said. 

The main reason Suffolk can move forward with fixing its historic properties? The county’s credit rating has improved, Bontempi said. In September, the county received a credit rating increase from A- to A from Fitch, one of the three major credit rating agencies, Newsday previously reported. Better operating efficiencies and more conservative revenue forecasts were cited as reasons for the upgrade. 

Bontempi said the county received a $500,000 matching grant from the state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation in the fall to help stabilize the boathouse on the property.

Huntington Town Historian Robert Hughes said it’s exciting that the boathouse and seaplane hangar could be restored and opened to the public. He said he often tells people they don’t have to go to Newport, Rhode Island, to see storied coastal mansions because there's one in Centerport.

“It’s not quite as grand, but it shows the lifestyle,” he said. “We have so many of these Gold Coast mansions, and this is one that survived and is open to the public as it was, fully furnished.”