Center Moriches compound on Senix Creek lists for almost $7 million
On a sticky July day in the early 2000s, Stanley H. Blum and his wife, Jane, sat poolside at their Remsenburg home. As Jane thumbed through a copy of Dan’s Papers, she noticed an ad Stanley had seen days earlier: a 6.31-acre property on Senix Creek in Center Moriches was on the market for just under $3 million.
Later that day, the pair was on the grounds of what would become their family compound on Union Avenue, as Stanley told it.
"It was love at first sight," said Blum, who would take his parents to see the property before making the purchase. "Everybody appreciated what the house was offering us in terms of a family compound, which is something that we always had wanted."
Two decades later, the gated estate is again featured in a Dan’s Papers advertisement — this time listed for $6.995 million through realtor Brenda Giufurta, of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Annual taxes on the property, which falls within the Center Moriches School District, total $47,000.
"We bought it, and we’ve spent the last 21 years there, enjoying every moment, every family celebration," said Blum, who calls the estate "Blumhaven."
The home sits along Senix Creek, which leads out to Moriches Bay. Credit: Morgan Campbell
"And now, everybody’s a little older so, as a result of that unfortunately, it doesn’t have the same usefulness that it had when we were all younger and everybody was living in New York."
There are three structures on the property. The 6,400-square-foot main house has six bedrooms and five bathrooms; a 1,790-square-foot guest house has two bedrooms and three bathrooms; and a pool house offers an additional bathroom.
Per "The Illustrated History of the Moriches Bay Area," the main house was built in the early 1900s. Notably, Giufurta said, the house survived the "Long Island Express" hurricane of 1938.
Over the years, owners past and present have made improvements to the house, which today is heated by oil and forced air and cooled by central air conditioning.
The property has a saltwater gunite pool and is dotted by various species of trees. Credit: Elliman.com/Rise Media
"The guest house was rebuilt using some of the old beams," Giufurta said. "And the main house has been updated and preserved, there’s beautiful etched glass."
Dotted by trees, the land hosts not only birches and maples but an exotic lime tree, a monkey tree and a flowering tree Giufurta compares to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in scale. The property also has a saltwater gunite pool and two-car garage.
"If you take that house, and you move it 10 miles east," Stanley started.
"You put a one on it," Brenda finished.
Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.
