Billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht faced a setback this week as coastal erosion led to the emergency demolition of his beachfront Nantucket home. The erosion carved away a significant portion of Sternlicht’s multi-million-dollar Massachusetts property, prompting the need for urgent action.
Through his architect Matthew MacEachern, Sternlicht obtained unanimous approval from Nantucket’s Historic District Commission for the full demolition of his summer house along Cisco Beach, marking the end of his plans to relocate the home to adjacent lots he had purchased for nearly $3 million.
Sternlicht’s two adjoining properties at the end of Hummock Pond Road on Nantucket, valued at $676,703 and $56,709, respectively, have been significantly affected by erosion in recent years.
Aerial imagery from 1998 illustrates the substantial distance between the house and the beach, but recent erosion has dramatically altered the landscape, leaving little vegetated land on the northern half of the parcels. The property’s southern end now forms part of the intertidal zone between the Atlantic and the beach.
Despite efforts to prepare the house for relocation over the past four years, extensive erosion, and carving out more than 30 feet of land left Sternlicht with few options. Attempts to move the structure were unsuccessful, leading to the decision for emergency demolition.
Sternlicht acquired the two properties in 2016 and 2019, with the house built in 1995 featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one half-bathroom, gas heating, and cedar shingles. His neighboring property sits vacant between the Atlantic Ocean and Hummock Pond, a brackish body of water.
The unfortunate fate of Sternlicht’s beachfront property adds to a list of high-profile homeowners affected by coastal erosion. Similar challenges have been faced by other affluent individuals, including Kid Rock and Babe Rizzuto in Jupiter, Florida, as well as billionaire Amos Hostetter and others on Nantucket’s Sconset Bluff.
Additionally, erosion along California’s Malibu Beach has threatened properties belonging to celebrities like Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman.
