Waterfront ex-Coast Guard housing site on Fishers Island reaches $2M at auction
This Fishers Island property, once a U.S. Coast Guard housing site, is on the auction block. Credit: GSA
The online auction of a former U.S. Coast Guard housing site on Fishers Island was set to close Wednesday morning at $2.04 million — until a bidder topped the highest offer.
Since May, five bidders have made offers on the 0.8-acre Southold property, now called The Cove, according to Paul Hughes, a public affairs officer for the U.S. General Services Administration.
On Wednesday at 9:48 a.m., bidder number two raised their offer from $2.03 million to $2.05 million, which moved the closing time to 9:48 a.m. on Thursday.
The move was in keeping with recent bidding activity: Over the past few weeks, bidders two and three have been fighting for the chance to purchase the property. If a bid comes in within 24 hours before close, the clock resets.
The Greenwood Road parcel was once used as living quarters for the Search and Rescue Detachment (SARDET) for the Coast Guard. It was then known as SARDET Fishers Island.
Located next to the Fishers Island Ferry Dock, the property includes a two-story, 2,700-square-foot Cape with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Beyond a driveway and perimeter fencing, the property has approximately 132 feet of waterfront on Silver Eel Cove on the western side of the island.
There are a 50-by-20-foot wooden deck and 42-by-10-foot floating dock, according to auction documentation.
"The USCG determined that the property was no longer necessary for their mission," Hughes wrote in an email.
An initial $1.36 million bid on the property came in on Aug. 14, according to the auction site. The price has since climbed to $2.05 million, with that most recent bid coming in Wednesday morning.
Bidders were required to register in advance and submit a $100,000 deposit. Bids began at $1 million and increased in increments of $10,000.
The auction, which opened on May 8, is in its "soft close" phase, Hughes said. A "soft close" is the online version of the auctioneer's refrain, "Going once, going twice." If a bid comes in with little time to spare, the amount of time to close is extended. This prevents someone from making a last-minute offer before other bidders have the chance to compete. On Wednesday, there remained time for someone to bid higher.
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.
