'Mini estate' on Palace Lake in Patchogue asking $899,000

A four-bedroom, 2½-bath "mini estate" on 1½ acres on Palace Lake in Patchogue that has been owned by the same family since 1940 is listed for $899,000. Annual taxes are $16,035.

Palace Lake was a pond with a 19th century water mill that had fallen into disrepair, says owner Kurt William Roeloffs Jr., whose grandfather Kurt H. H. Roeloffs emigrated from Germany in 1925 and built the home.

“My grandfather bought most of the property around the whole lake, around 1935, and built a one-room summer shack,” says Roeloffs. His grandfather then built a year-round home, dredging the lake and creating an irrigation system from the rebuilt water mill.

In the ensuing years, Roeloffs’ “Poppy” sponsored about 35 relatives and friends fleeing Germany, including tradesmen who built the house, resulting in carpentry measured in meters, not feet, Roeloffs says.

The 3,000-square-foot house, on Clio Place, features a living room with mahogany paneling and a vaulted ceiling designed for its acoustics for Roeloffs’ grandfather, an optician who enjoyed playing violin and holding concerts there.

Roeloffs’ father, Kurt W. Roeloffs, an optometrist and flight instructor, lived in the home until his death in January.

The home has hardwood floors, a den with a coffered ceiling and painted paneling, and a kitchen nook overlooking the property.

Zoned for the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District, the home is listed by Kevin Collins and Candice Golio of Realty Connect USA.

It has a deck facing the dock and lake, with access for swimming, kayaking and fishing, and a greenhouse that Roeloffs' late mother, Sylvia Roeloffs, a master gardener, used for landscaping the property.