Picturesque Cold Spring Harbor offers museums, shopping, nature

THE SCOOP In only a half mile, Cold Spring Harbor has two museums, a library, two learning centers, an entrance to the Greenbelt Trail, a harbor, state park and stores and restaurants all located in a business district that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some of the buildings are more than 200 years old and once served as sea captains’ and merchants’ homes, reflecting the town’s whaling heritage, said Tom Hogan, president of the Cold Spring Harbor Business Improvement Association and spokesperson for the Main Street Association. "It’s an exciting community that attracts folks from all over the world," he said. "We’re an easy day trip from Manhattan and any place on Long Island. It’s a comfortable community that’s magical in its own way and nestled in the harbor."

The attractions include the DNA Learning Center, the Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor, Cold Spring Harbor Firehouse Museum, Preservation Long Island, Cold Spring Harbor State Park, and just past Main Street, on 25A across from the head of the harbor grassland preserve with salt marsh and wet meadow, the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium. Just west of that is the noted Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (technically in the village of Laurel Hollow), which has produced eight Nobel Prize winners, and St. John's Episcopal Church, built in 1835. The picturesque town also has a top-ranked high school, #279 in National Rankings, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The town has received grant funding to revitalize Cold Spring Harbor State Park as part of a walkable community project, which includes the addition of historic streetlights from the park down to the boat launch and a sidewalk that would link the two facilities, Hogan said. Plans are also underway to improve the waterfront.

The one downside to being a town that attracts visitors every weekend is a lack of parking, Hogan noted. The town lot can currently accommodate only 110 cars.

There’s an eclectic mix of homes, from original Victorians to Colonials and Capes on properties from a half-acre up to 10 acres, with prices ranging from the rare $550,000 on Route 25A to $12 million, with most listed at $1 million to $2 million.

"While there are older homes, a good portion of them are new, and the houses that are along the water have fantastic Western water views," says Pamela Doyle of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. "Since COVID, we’re getting people moving from the city and Nassau because they want more property, and people from Suffolk who know the town and what it’s like here."

Residents appreciate that Cold Spring Harbor is next door to Huntington village, with its numerous restaurants and shops, Doyle said, adding, "The access to beaches and the Greenbelt Trail is what makes the lifestyle here so special. We have a lot to offer."

CONDOS AND CO-OPS There are no condos or co-ops on the market.

SALE PRICES Between Oct. 31, 2020, and Nov. 30, 2021, there were 64 home sales with a median sale price of $1.456 million, according to OneKey MLS. The low price for that period was $675,000 and the high was $4.7 million. During that period a year earlier there were 39 home sales with a median sale price of $1.135 million. The price range was $522,470 to $3 million.

OTHER STATS

Town Huntington

Area 3.7 square miles

ZIP code 11724

Population 3,064

Median age 46.8

Median household income $202,208

Median home value $1.725 million*

Monthly LIRR ticket from Cold Spring Harbor $363

School districts, graduation rate Cold Spring Harbor (99%), Huntington (91%)

Parks Cold Spring Harbor State Park, Uplands Farm Sanctuary

Libraries Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington

Hospital Huntington Hospital

Transit Suffolk County Transit H10

SOURCES: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; OneKey MLS; LIRR, data.nysed.gov *Based on 28 sales in the past six months, according to OneKey MLS

NOW ON THE MARKET

$4.35 million

Known as Dove Cote, this 8,505-square-foot Tudor built in 1931 on 2.62 acres resembles a stone and brick French Normandy home. It has an inlaid brick-and-bluestone courtyard, turret, tiled roof, cross timbers and casement windows. There are 15 rooms, including seven bedrooms, five full and two half baths and formal dining room. An outdoor space includes a flat yard centered around an in-ground pool, a covered patio and fountain. The home has deeded beach and mooring rights to Eagle Dock Beach. Taxes are $50,160. Scott Van Son, Berkshire Hathaway, 631-824-8484.

$1.199 million

A traditional Colonial built in 1974 on a half-acre in a cul-de-sac, this home features four bedrooms and 2½ baths, a living room with a bay window, and a family room with a wood-burning fireplace and French doors opening to the den/library or fifth bedroom. Renovations include a new Brazilian walnut front porch, roof, brick patio and cesspool. There’s also deeded access to Eagle Dock Beach with a mooring. Taxes are $19,629. Diane Anderson, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, 631-692-6770.

$995,000

This contemporary four-bedroom, 3½-bath home built in 1987 has a new kitchen with gas and a granite island with glass doors to the deck. The living room has a fireplace and sunroom windows and a first-floor room can be used a bedroom or an office. The finished basement has an entrance to the two-car garage. The 0.46-acre property has an in-ground pool and access to Eagle Dock Beach with a mooring. Taxes are $21,364. Janine Gleusner, Signature Premier Properties, 631-692-4800.

RECENTLY SOLD

$4.93 million

Address 8 Burrwood Court

Style Colonial

Bedrooms 5

Bathrooms 5 full, 2 half

Built 2001

Lot size 2 acres

Taxes $60,400

+/- list price -$45,000

Days on market 168

$2.475 million

Address Folly Field Court

Style Colonial

Bedrooms 6

Bathrooms 5 full, 2 half

Built 2000

Lot size 2 acres

Taxes $55,003

+/- list price -$415,000

Days on market 113

$3.25 million

Address Wawapek Road

Style Mediterranean

Bedrooms 6

Bathrooms 4½

Built 1959

Lot size 3¾ acres

Taxes $57,338

+/- list price +$255,000

Days on market 152

ON ONEKEY MLS

Number of listings 16

Price range $499,900 $12.95 million

Tax range $12,197 to $137,327