Representatives of the iconic Tide Mill Yacht Basin appeared before Rye’s Planning Commission on Tuesday evening, September 22, 2026, for an “informal” discussion around a subdivision of the property into two seperate lots. The property, with the red mill house that appears in a myriad of photos, paintings and real estate brochures about Rye, has been an active boatyard since the early 1900s and a grain mill prior to that dating back to colonial times. It was known as Jake’s BoatYard until it was purchased by the Donahue family in 1972, where it has remained under their care.
On the Market for Three Years
The Donahues have had the property on the market in one form or another for the last three years. It first went on the market in the summer of 2023 with a massive $30 million price tag and specs for an elaborate, new 7-bedroom 11,000 square foot private home. That project, which never came to fruition, was assembled with local developer Paul Varsames.
The property has seen a number of listing agents and is currently on the market for $9,250,000, with Ellen Stern at Julia B. Sotheby’s International Realty. A subdivision, if it were to come about, would clearly allow the owners to find a new crop of potential buyers at a different price point.
Requesting Preservation “In Perpetuity”
The request was labeled as “informal” and it would seem the owner, the Donahue family, is looking for optionality. The same thing that makes the property so unique – the red mill, a working boat yard, a private home and 2.58 acres – is what makes its marketing so difficult.
In the mayor’s conference room Tuesday for the Planning Commission meeting was Peter Donahue (the owner), current listing agent Ellen Stern, and project architect Rex Gedney. It’s worth noting that Gedney is the longest-serving member of the newly refreshed Landmarks Advisory Committee. He grew up in Rye and he is from a multi-generational Rye family.
The Planning Commission discussed the project, asked for some additional delineation of wetlands on the proposed subdivision drawings, and made a point about the importance of the mill structure to the City of Rye and its residents.
“The mill is an important structure for the city of Rye,” said Planning Commission Chair Nick Everett to the project architect Rex Gedney of Crozier Gedney Architects. “Incorporated into this subdivision would have to be some sort of means or methods to make sure to give people the sense the mill is going to be preserved in perpetuity not just to that next owner. You need to think about how that could be incorporated.”
“We have had various discussions but haven’t concluded exactly how to do that,” said Gedney.
[See the meeting video below. Discussion of the Tide Mill Yacht Basin starts at minute 19:41.]
