Shelter Island Chequit Hotel is on the auction block

Six years after David Bowd and Kevin O’Shea renovated and opened the Chequit, it is on the auction block. New York City-based Concierge Auctions is handling the auction of the property and said the owners are looking for a minimum of $3.5 million.

The property was purchased for a reported $3.35 million and substantial amount of money was invested renovating the premises. If bids were to come in lower than $3.5 million, it would be up to a company called APT Development that is now the owner of record to accept a lower bid, seek to negotiate with bidders or reject all bids, according to Project Sales Manager Bob Buttaro of Concierge Auctions.

Mr. Buttaro was expecting to be on the Island Thursday and Friday for another assessment of the property. He said he knows the structure needs a new roof and the exterior would need painting. He’ll be looking at other aspects of the building and assuming if it is sold, it will be “as is,” he said.

The property will be marketed globally, Mr. Buttaro said.

Those wishing to bid have to register with Concierge Auctions and provide a $100,000 deposit that would be refunded if they fail to win the bidding. The registration process also requires a bank for the potential buyer to certify that funds are sufficient to complete the purchase should that person or company win the bid.

Between March 27 and 31, those qualified will compete with their bids online. But if past experience is any indication, it will be on the last day that bidding picks up, Mr. Buttaro said.

The highest bidder will become the winner and sign a contract with an expected closing within 30 days.

The Chequit was built by the local Methodist church to function as a dining room for the community when it was completed in 1872, according to the Shelter Island Historical Society. Twenty-two years later, it was converted into an inn called Bay View House and Bay View Hotel. In 1909 that name was changed to Chequit, a local indigenous name for weakfish.

In its heyday in the 1960s, members of the Kennedy family and Marilyn Monroe were among celebrities who stayed there. In 1978, CBS used the Chequit as the primary site for its mini-series, “The Dain Curse,” starring James Coburn and Hector Elizondo.

Ram’s Head Inn owners James and Linda Eklund purchased the Chequit in 1994 and sold it 20 years later.