The Wall Street Journal - 13.09.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, September 13, 2019 |M1

CAREY AND NANCY SMITHtoured

41 New York City homes before fi-

nally agreeing this spring to pay al-

most $20 million for a Greenwich Vil-

lage townhouse once owned by

Malcolm Forbes. Their real-estate

agent kept count.

Their search took them to houses

and glitzy condos on the Upper East

Side, Upper West Side, Tribeca, Mid-

town and beyond—and into the homes

of big-name sellers like Jennifer Lopez

and the late Deputy Secretary of State

John Whitehead. Frequently, they were

PleaseturntopageM8

They Sold Their Company

For Big Bucks, Then Shopped

The founders of Big Ass Fans have bought three multimillion-

dollar homes since selling their business for $500 million

BYKATHERINECLARKE

The Smiths, right, bought a Manhattan townhouse, above, after looking at dozens of places.

Their new Greenwich Village home was formerly owned by Malcolm Forbes.

KELLY MARSHALL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2)

Lisa Brock and her horse Ringo visit the Wohletz family on Mackinac Island, Mich. The home, like many on the island, was built using horse-drawn drays and snowmobiles.

BRIAN KELLY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

MANSION

Animal House

Man’s best friend

meets home

buyersM7

David Spade

The actor was

too cool for

schoolM14

HOMES|MARKETS|PEOPLE|REDOS|SALES

$490,000

Cost of construction,

plus lot, in 2006

NEW YORK CITY

Listed: $28.5 million

Paid: $20 million

9,000 sq. ft.

complicated building logistics.

Mackinac (pronounced Mack-i-naw) Island is 3.8

square miles. It was once a fur-trading post that

became a vacation spot in the late 1800s. The town

banned cars, or “horseless carriages,” in 1898, fol-

lowed in 1901 by a law prohibiting them on state

park land, which makes up 80% of the island. There

are no exhaust fumes or beeping garbage trucks.

Electric bikes are allowed only with proof of a dis-

ability, carried at all times, and golf carts can’t

leave the golf course.

Many of the large Victorian

homes, called cottages by locals,

date to the 19th century. No more

than two new homes get built on the

island a year, city officials estimate.

As a result, empty lots are widely

available and go for about $70,000

for a quarter acre. At the same time,

it is hard to find an existing house

for under $1 million. The year-round

population has been fairly steady for

the past four decades, at about 500.

The Hagelsteins hired an architect

for their new home, but had to alter

their plans when the building com-

mission deemed the footprint too

big. By the time the blueprints were

approved (meetings are only once a month), it was

almost winter, when snow and ice preclude much

building. Yet motor vehicles, which have to be ap-

proved, permitted and accompanied by a police es-

cort, are allowed on the island only between Octo-

ber and May, and are granted only to the

companies doing the work.

All that left the Hagelsteins a small window to

get the foundation started. Because there is only

PleaseturntopageM4

A

big draw of Mackinac

Island in Northern

Michigan is the feeling

of living in a simpler,

less hurried time. A

ban on motor vehicles most of the

year makes the green oasis set in

the blue waters of Lake Huron un-

commonly peaceful.

It also can make even the simplest

household task uncommonly difficult.

Imagine ordering a new refrigerator

and having it arrive by horse and

cart. Now imagine building a vacation

home with similar restrictions.

“You have to be humble and pa-

tient,” says Karen Hagelstein.

When Ms. Hagelstein, 46, and her husband, Ron

Hagelstein, 51, who own a marble and granite com-

pany in Traverse City, Mich., decided to build a

four-bedroom summer house on the island two

years ago, people warned them about the time in-

volved. Two years later, their 2,600-square-foot

pink Victorian still has about 12 months to go—and

Ms. Hagelstein says it could stretch into 2021. The

cost, about $350 a square foot, also reflects the

BYNANCYKEATES

Horse-Powered

ESTATES

Mackinac Island, Mich., has a ban on vehicles that

gives peace of mind to the tight community but

endless headaches for new-home builders

subzero-wolf.com/showroom

Sometimes the best way to

visualize your next kitchen is

to touch, hear, and taste it.

Open drawers.Turn knobs. Light burners. Welcome to a

showroom unlike any other–a dynamic space to test-drive

appliances, take classes, and taste every delicious possibility.