Darien’s Hay Island sells for $26.5 million, 3rd highest sale in Connecticut this year

Connected to mainland Darien by a vehicle causeway, Hay Island is just south of Great Island which was purchased in separate transactions in 2023 by the town of Darien and a private buyer. Both properties were owned by William Ziegler Sr., who generated his fortune through Royal Baking Powder Co., with the brand still sold today by Mondelez International.

Hay Island was Connecticut’s third largest residential sale on record this year as reported by Zillow, and the biggest outside of Greenwich. The property’s listing agent was Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty.

The $43.5 million transfer of 214 Clapboard Ridge Road in Greenwich remains the state’s high sale with less than six weeks to go in the calendar year. Including commercial properties, the $25.8 million sale of the Thorndal Circle office complex is Darien’s biggest real estate sale this year, with the property slated to be converted to apartments.

The Hay Island property at 157 and 161 Long Neck Point Road was originally listed for $35 million last March, with the price cut to $29.5 million after two months on the market. The town appraised the property at $25 million as of October 2024.

The main house at 161 Long Neck Point Road was built in 2010, with six bedrooms and nearly 8,700 square feet of space according to a town property card. A Cape Cod-style cottage at 157 Great Neck Road dates back to 1920 with two bedrooms and 2,300 square feet. A small pool house is also on the property.

Darien’s record residential sale is the Ziegler’s Farm section of Great Island, which sold in December 2023 for $57.5 million. The town’s $85 million purchase of a 60-acre portion of Great Island, now a public park, put the total parcel’s value at $142.5 million.

Includes prior reporting by Mollie Hersh, Andy Blye and Nathaniel Rosenberg.