Upgrades in the works at historic Coindre Hall estate

Suffolk County officials are moving forward next year with plans to spruce up structures and landscaping on the grounds of historic Coindre Hall in Huntington, including a boathouse on the property that has fallen into disrepair.

On the list of upgrades are stabilizing the foundation of the empty boathouse and repairing its roof, replacing the nearby pier into Huntington Bay and repaving the parking lot behind the former Gold Coast mansion, according to Legis. Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport). 

Plans also include revegetating the area around the ice pond on the lower portion of the Browns Road property, near the boathouse, with native plants to resemble what it looked like during its heyday a century ago. 

“I am very excited about the significant progress made recently,” Bontempi said of the county park, which sits in her legislative district. 

Since 2021, the county has appropriated $12.9 million in the capital budget to restore the property, she said. 

State Department of Environmental Conservation permits, as well as those from the town and village, have been issued for the work, Bontempi said.  

The estate was built between 1910 and 1912 for pharmaceutical maker George McKesson Brown on 33 acres, Newsday previously reported. The mansion on the property is leased by Lessing’s, a catering company, and is not included in this round of improvements, Bontempi said.

A yearlong renovation of the boathouse is to begin in July, Bontempi said. Once completed, the structure could be available for limited public use, she said, “because getting running water in the boathouse is not plausible and you need water for public facilities.”

This fall, at the behest of residents concerned about vandalism, fencing was placed around the boathouse, Bontempi said. In October, security cameras were also installed around the property.

The county legislature on Nov. 26 approved approximately $150,000 for a historic landscape plan focusing on the ice pond, Bontempi said.

The ice pond is named such because at one time it was used to create and harvest ice, said Richard Martin, director of historic services who oversees county-owned historic sites.

The estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for the Gold Coast Estate Era, Martin said. The plan will go toward documenting how the property looked then, he said.

“We’ll be looking at original site plan maps and a lot of original photographs of the site to see what we can replace,” Martin said. 

In May, the gravel parking lot behind the mansion will be repaved, with completion expected in June. 

Plans are to replace the pier beginning in May, Bontempi said, at a cost of up to $1 million. 

She said there is discussion about keeping a Suffolk County police boat at the pier for quick access to Long Island Sound and to "be a deterrent.”

Desiree Benn, president of the nonprofit Coindre Hall Park Community Inc., said the community would like the lower portion of the property to be designated a nature preserve. She said there is a petition with about 3,200 signatures supporting that idea.

“We urge a comprehensive, transparent plan focused on conservation and the long-term benefit of the entire community,” she said. “There is growing concern that the ongoing restoration efforts at Coindre Hall Park are a smokescreen for plans that could harm the site’s ecological and historical value.”

Bontempi pushed back against the notion that there has not been transparency.

“Since the project began, there have been regular advisory meetings open to the public where they have been able to weigh in and listen to the advisory board doing their work," she said.