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The Real Deal - NYCSept. 2, 2023
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Flying high above Shelter Island, Nest Seekers’ James Giugliano scoped out a 1.1 acre lot on Nostrand Parkway from the window of a Caravan Amphibian seaplane.
On the parcel below stands a three-bedroom colonial house, priced at just below $6 million, with views overlooking the Shelter Island Sound.
With him on the eight-seater aircraft were Hamptons developers Peter Callos and Jeff Allen; the three were on a bird’s eye scouting mission for potential redevelopment sites on the island.
“For a while, we’ve talked about developing on the water in Shelter because we think it’s undervalued,” Giugliano said. He added that while he often takes clients on boats to view waterfront properties, “this was the first time I’ve shown properties from the air.”
The broker and builders — joined by Allen’s daughter, Callos’ wife and Giugliano’s dad — took off from the shallows of the sound, while back on shore, Nest Seekers hosted its end-of-summer Sunset Soiree.
Over 300 guests gathered on the lawn of The Pridwin Hotel & Cottages on Friday to celebrate what Nest Seekers’ Bianca D’Alessio claims has been a “banner year” so far for the brokerage, including the launch of its Nest Yacht and Nest Jets divisions.
“The best place to celebrate Labor Day is in the Hamptons,” D’Alessio said.
While a DJ spun upbeat house tunes, partygoers sipped on the evening’s signature cocktail — a deep-pink blend of tequila, mezcal, fresh watermelon juice, hibiscus and lime — dubbed “double trouble.”
Among the guests was Nest Seekers’ CEO Eddie Shapiro and his wife, Lauren. As the sun sank toward the horizon, the firm’s top brokers in the U.S. and Europe mingled with developers, clients and brokers from other firms.
Bianca D’Alessio with the seaplane in the background
“No one throws a party like Nest Seekers,” D’Alessio said.
Agents traveled from across the globe to attend the event: The broker-sister duo Brittany and Megan Alexander came up from Saratoga Springs, and Nuno Franco, the manager of the company’s Portugal office, made the trek across the pond.
Though the party had all the usual trappings of a Hamptons evening — it came with one notable exception: the option to go airborne.
Nest Seekers’ Sunseeker yacht and Intrepid boats shepherded guests, including the firm’s developer clients, to a seaplane for a tour of properties on Shelter Island and in Sag Harbor.
“There’s no better place to check out Hamptons real estate than from the window of a seaplane,” D’Alessio said and added, “especially at sunset.”
