In 2023, Steven Cohen paid $19.2 million for a Nantucket mansion; he then sought approval to demolish the six-bedroom main house

A newly constructed waterfront mansion on Nantucket could be headed for the wrecking ball soon after it changed hands. Sold for $19.2 million in November 2023, the home became the subject of a demolition proposal in 2024, according to the NY Post. Steven Cohen, identified as the buyer by NY Post, became the owner of the six-bedroom home through a blind trust in November 2023.According to Nantucket Current, Cohen filed a proposal with the Nantucket Historic District Commission (HDC), requesting permission to raze the multi-million-dollar residence.The request was scheduled for an official commission hearing and drew scrutiny from a local resident. Despite its high-end architectural design, the proposal outlines plans to demolish the estate in its entirety. The owner intends to replace the property's current footprint with a smaller one, consisting of a new 3,426-square-foot primary residence alongside a 528-square-foot detached guest house.The plan to swap size for a complete overhaul Initially completed in 2022 following a collaborative effort that involved several designers and builders, the property consists of a main house decked with six bedrooms and a two-bedroom guest house, offering eight bedrooms in total. Previously listed on the market by J Pepper Frazier Real Estate, the property includes several luxury amenities It features a swimming pool, a pickleball court, direct beach access, and sweeping views across Nantucket Harbor.Although the home's high-end finishes and natural stone accents were elucidated in the promotional listing, the interior of the structure actually remained incomplete, as the owner's representative testimony revealed to the HDC in July. Representing the property owner, architect Matthew MacEachern of the island-based design firm Emeritus made clear the physical condition of the residence during initial structural reviews before the HDC.According to MacEachern, the mansion was merely a rough frame devoid of any interior finishes, despite having 90% of the windows fully fitted. MacEachern noted that while the new owner initially tried to work with the existing layout, the scale of the required modifications ultimately necessitated a comprehensive structural redesign, rendering total demolition and rebuilding necessary for the desired property layout.The proposal was met with opposition from a neighbour The proposal has triggered formal pushback from a next door property owner who remain adamant in resisting the repeated cycle of construction and teardowns within the neighborhood. Architect Graham Goldsmith, owner of an adjacent property on Pocomo Road, made his qualms clear to the HDC during preliminary hearings. Goldsmith asked, "How many more buildings are we going to tear down in this neighborhood? It just goes on and on." Nantucket’s demolition-delay bylaw requires residential structures to be reviewed for reuse potential before a demolition permit can be issued.Goldsmith broached the demolition of a nearby 34-year-old mansion that belonged to Yankee Candle founder Michael J. Kittredge, questioning the sustainability of repeated neighborhood reconstructions. The regulatory power of the Historic District Commission remains strictly bound by municipal rules regardless of concerns about neighborhood consistency. HDC member Ray Pohl answered the neighborhood grievances by pointing out that the commission’s legal purview remains confined exclusively to reviewing external architecture and historical compatibility. Pohl maintained that any broader logistics, timelines, resource waste and teardown procedures remain outside the bounds of the HDC’s evaluation. As of October 8, 2024, neither Cohen nor representatives from the commission had issued any comments relevant to the upcoming scheduling or final decision on the pending demolition permit.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.