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A former radio transmitter site turned off-grid island retreat just hit the market for $13 million, thirty minutes from Manhattan.
In episode #75 of his weekly YouTube vlog, celebrity broker Ryan Serhant boards a boat in Long Island Sound to walk a listing unlike anything else on his desk: two private islands off New Rochelle, sold together as a single package. One is a fully renovated, self-sustaining residence with a broadcasting past. The other is raw, undeveloped land with its own private beach. Together, they carry a $13 million ask.
- Columbia Island and Pea Island, located in Long Island Sound off New Rochelle, New York, are listed together for $13 million.
- Columbia Island — the former transmitter site for CBS radio station WCBS-AM — has been converted into an off-grid, self-sustaining home of roughly 5,625 square feet with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and solar-plus-diesel power generation.
- Pea Island is an undeveloped, nearly five-acre neighboring parcel offering private beach access and room for expansion, situated about 30 minutes from Manhattan.
From Radio Transmitter to Off-Grid Estate
Columbia Island’s backstory is what separates this listing from the standard waterfront mansion. Before it was anyone’s home, the island served as the transmitter site for WCBS-AM, broadcasting the station’s signal out into Long Island Sound. That industrial history is now buried under a 5,625-square-foot residence built to function completely independently of the mainland grid — four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a power setup that blends solar panels with diesel backup generation.
Serhant walks through the property pointing out just how self-contained the operation is: no dependence on New Rochelle’s utility lines, no monthly power bill tied to Con Edison, just a house engineered to run on its own. For buyers drawn to the idea of true isolation without sacrificing modern comfort, that off-grid infrastructure is the selling point as much as the square footage.
Pea Island’s Untouched Potential
The second half of the package is Pea Island, a nearly five-acre parcel that sits undeveloped right next to Columbia Island. There’s no house here — just land, shoreline, and a private beach that comes bundled into the same $13 million deal. For a buyer with construction ambitions, it’s a blank canvas sitting a short boat ride from the developed island.
That combination — one finished, livable structure paired with one raw expansion opportunity — is part of what makes the listing unusual. It’s not just a house for sale; it’s a small private archipelago with room to grow.
Two islands, one off-grid house built on a former CBS radio transmitter site, and a private beach — all thirty minutes from Manhattan for $13 million.
Location: Thirty Minutes From Manhattan
What makes Columbia and Pea Islands more than a novelty is proximity. New Rochelle sits along the Long Island Sound coastline in Westchester County, and the drive or boat ride into Manhattan runs about 30 minutes — a commute that puts total seclusion within reach of the city without requiring buyers to give up their New York life entirely.
Serhant’s tour leans into that contrast: the quiet of an island reachable only by boat, set against the skyline that’s still practically visible down the Sound. It’s the same appeal that’s made waterfront and island listings a recurring theme on his channel, alongside the outsized city properties he’s more typically known for showing, like the sprawling eight-level Manhattan townhouse he toured with its own elevator and terraces.
A Package Deal for a Specific Buyer
At $13 million for both islands combined, the price sits in the same range as trophy properties Serhant covers elsewhere — comparable to the kind of number attached to a $65 million Beverly Hills mega mansion, just applied to land and infrastructure instead of square footage and finishes. The buyer profile here isn’t someone chasing more bedrooms; it’s someone who wants a genuinely private landmass with a working, livable structure already in place and room next door to build more.
Serhant doesn’t get an offer on camera in episode #75 — the segment ends as a tour, not a sale. Whether Columbia and Pea Islands find a buyer willing to take on an off-grid, boat-access-only property at that price is the open question left hanging over the rest of the vlog.
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