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Community Corner

Replacements for Multimillion Dollar Teardowns Take Shape

David Tepper and Calvin Klein both razed Hamptons mansions to make way for new ones.

In recent years, Southampton and Sagaponack villages each had a high-profile oceanfront real estate teardown that made international headlines.

Most recently, in 2011, it was the $43.5 million estate is Sagaponack — which used to belong to former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine — that hedge fund manager David Tepper decided to .

Back in 2009, the infamous Dragon's Head on Meadow Lane in Southampton Village was abuzz in the real estate world when it met its demise. The mansion caused a rift in the village in the 1980s after financier Barry Trupin made a number of alterations to it without the proper permits. By the time he was done, the historic home had become more like a castle, which one critic said looked like "Disneyland on LSD."

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Calvin Klein had Dragon's Head razed to make way for a modern home that would be more pleasing for the fashion designer's taste.

According to plans filed with the Sagaponack Building Department, Tepper tore down his new home because he wanted to build one with — a Georgian Colonial that is nearly twice as big as what once stood there, with a 1,000-square-foot-plus three-car garage, a 550-square-foot pool house and a 270-square-foot tennis pavilion.

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Another summer has passed in which both men have have yet to realize their dream homes. But aerial pictures shot earlier this month by photographer Jeff Cully show that Tepper's re-envisoned estate is finally taking shape, despite spending an extended period of time as . And shots Cully took Thursday show Klein's mansion also appears well on its way to completion.

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