Rich Cribs: Awixa Castle in Bay Shore for sale
Joe Weiss has been king of his castle since he and his wife, Julie, bought the nine-bedroom, eight-bath Bay Shore Tudor-style fortress in 2000. But now they are ready to hang up their crowns and split their time between the New York metro area and Florida. So Awixa Castle, as the house is known, is now on the market for $3.995 million. Credit: None/
FIT FOR ROYALTY. Joe Weiss has been king of his castle since he and his wife, Julie, bought the nine-bedroom, eight-bath Bay Shore Tudor-style fortress in 2000. But now they are ready to hang up their crowns and split their time between the New York metro area and Florida.
So Awixa Castle, as the house is known, is now on the market for $3.995 million. Listed with Jamie Winkler of Winkler Real Estate, the nearly 12,000-square-foot home is on 3.1 acres on Awixa Creek in Bay Shore. When bought 13 years ago by the retired office electronics executive and his wife, the home was hardly in royal condition.
But for the squatters living in it, the home had been unoccupied for five years. After 40 Dumpster loads of garbage were hauled out and the couple had their way with the property, it became a centerpiece in the Bay Shore community, regularly turned over to charities for fundraising events. “When we bought the property, the goal was to give back to the community,” Joe says.
At Christmastime, the entire property is decorated and opened up to the public, with donations going to charity.
Among the regal amenities in the home is a 2,400-square-foot ballroom, a combination cocktail lounge and theater, and an octagonal-shaped living room facing the water.
There also is a professional kitchen designed by Julie, a one-time French culinary student, that includes three sinks, five ovens and a stove imported from Paris.
Also on the property is a guest cottage, an outdoor kitchen and a boathouse. The home was built in 1904 but “castled” in 1964 by then owner Joseph Koch.
The Weisses limit their living area to a suite created by combining four of the bedrooms into an area that includes a silk-draped sitting area, a bedroom, and a master bath with a Jacuzzi. -- Ann Smukler
POLO ANYONE? Nothing says Gold Coast Long Island like a mansion near the polo grounds, even if the home is less than a decade old. Although this Old Westbury estate on the market for $12.95 million was built in 2002, it overlooks 28 acres of polo fields once owned by the Whitney family, now the site of the Meadowbrook Polo Club.
The surroundings hearken back to the days when Long Island was a draw to rich and famous polo enthusiasts like the Whitneys, Pratts and Vanderbilts. “It’s one of the most beautifully manicured polo fields in New York,” says listing agent Michael Berman of Automatic Real Estate Associates in East Hills. “It’s a breathtaking view with a parklike feel.”
The 15,000-square-foot Colonial is on 6.34 acres. It has seven bedrooms, seven full- and three half-baths, three kitchens, four fireplaces, garage space for 10 cars, a man-made pond, and an in-ground gunite pool.
If polo is not your thing, there’s also a Har Tru tennis court, a boccie court and a golf hole on the property. Berman says that the property has a “dramatic and luxurious” gated entry set 800 feet back from the street, adding to the sense of serenity and privacy. -- Laura Mann
