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The compound was built around a replica Buddhist temple modelled after temples at the Summer Palace in Beijing
A nearly 5-acre estate in Bridgehampton, New York, featuring a replica of a 15th-century Buddhist temple has been listed for $7.5 million, Mansion Global reported. Manhattan gastroenterologist and entrepreneur Dr Roshini Raj bought the property in 2022 for $3.95 million and later spent about $3 million on changes to the estate.
The property was listed on September 24, according to Mansion Global.The estate was created on vacant land by a previous owner in 2002. The owner turned the site into a weekend and holiday property for his family, using East Asian design influences. The compound was built around a replica Buddhist temple modelled after temples at the Summer Palace in Beijing.The property now includes a roughly 7,800-square-foot main house with seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and five half bathrooms.
It also has a four-car attached garage, a sauna, a gym and a wine cellar. The grounds include a lagoon-style pool and spa, koi ponds, orchards, water features, ornamental bridges and pathways.The estate was also designed according to the principles of feng shui. Its gardens contain statues collected from different parts of the world, mature specimen plants and several water features. The Buddhist temple is one of the most distinctive parts of the property, with 500-year-old doors and walls covered with murals.
A private estate with a temple
Mala Sander of the Corcoran Group, who listed the property, described the estate as highly private because it sits on a little-known street. She also pointed to the size of the property, noting that most lots in Bridgehampton are only about one to one-and-a-half acres.“It’s insanely private,” Sander said as quoted by Mansion Global. “It’s on a very little-known street, so nobody knows where you are. And it’s large- most of the lots in Bridgehampton are only one to one-and-a-half acres.”The grounds were designed to create different spaces around the property rather than one open garden. They include meandering paths, ornamental bridges, koi ponds, orchards and mature plants. The estate also has a lagoon-style pool and spa.“The gardens are gorgeous,” Sander said, adding that she knows of no other property in Bridgehampton that has a temple. “The plants are really beautifully curated, but they don’t need a lot of tending and upkeep.”Raj made several changes after buying the estate. One of them was the conversion of the home's sunroom into a room she called the “jungalow”. The room has an animal-print theme and connects to the dining room through a traditional moon gate that resembles a garden trellis.Raj said the design was inspired by colonial clubs she had seen in Sri Lanka. The changes were part of the wider work she carried out after purchasing the property.
Mansion Global reported that she spent about a year and a half making decorative changes to the estate.
The Buddhist temple is one of the most distinctive parts of the property, with 500-year-old doors and walls covered with murals.
Temple used for meditation and yoga
The Buddhist temple has a specific role in Raj’s use of the property. She uses the space as a meditation room and yoga studio. Its circular walls are covered with murals, adding to the East Asian design of the building.Raj said the combination of the temple, gardens and water features gives the estate a sense of calm. “The magic of this property is that from the moment you enter the gates, you are transported to what feels like a private sanctuary,” Raj said.
“The gardens, koi ponds and temple create a spiritual sense of calm that is irreplaceable. It is a truly serene and soulful retreat.”The property has also been used for large gatherings. Raj said the estate became especially useful when she hosted a party marking the 10th anniversary of Tula Skincare, the company she co-founded.“There were massages in the tea house, yoga and meditation classes in the temple, a lunch in the apricot orchard and dinner on the front lawn,” she said.
“It was amazing to see how the different spaces could be used to create different moments of peace and celebration.”
Why Raj is selling the estate
Raj is now putting the Bridgehampton property on the market as her youngest child is expected to leave for college in less than a year. Her primary residence is a condominium in Manhattan.She said the change in her family’s circumstances has made this a suitable time to sell the property. Raj also said she wants more freedom to travel and spend time in different places.“I want to be free to roam the world if I choose to, and so it seems like this is a good time to pass on this beautiful property to someone who definitely will be able to enjoy it more often,” she said.
