Real Estate

Highlands model homes offer ‘fewer walls, more light’

RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO
RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO

Longtime residents who fear the region could evolve — or, in their eyes, devolve — into a clone of the Hamptons, with its frenzied pace and traffic, shouldn’t worry, Mr. Dubb said.

“What I really like about Riverhead — and home builders are sort of typecast as people who pave over forests and farmland — is that it has strong statutes about farmland preservation,” he said.

Indeed, much of the land along Sound Avenue in Aquebogue is actively farmed or has been preserved as farmland or open space. Suffolk County purchased the 307-acre North Fork Preserve in recent years and last month preserved 14 acres of farmland west of the Highlands Club.

“That means the character of the North Fork, unless those rules change, will really kind of remain the way it is,” Mr. Dubb said.

With that said, he and his team are exploring new sites in the area.

“We’re looking at a couple of different projects out here,” he said. “And they’re similar in style and pricing [to the Highlands]. From the response we’ve had in the last two weeks, I think there’s a future for Beechwood here, which I’m really happy about.”

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