Idle Hour, And Former Dowling Oakdale Campus, Is For Sale Again

OAKDALE, NY—A piece of Long Island history is once again for sale in Oakdale. The former Vanderbilt mansion Idle Hour and one-time Dowling Campus campus is currently owned by Mercury International, LLC, and it's back on the market for $25 million.

The mansion and property has been empty since Dowling shuttered in 2017. Local residents have complained about vandalism at the site, andthe Town of Islip boarded up the historic mansion's windows in October in an attempt to stop break-ins.

The property, at 150 Idle Hour Blvd., is 11 acres, and includes the 82,000 square-foot mansion, a library and a dorm building.

Adelphi University purchased the former estate, built by Vanderbilt heir William K. Vanderbilt during the Gilded Age in the 1807s, in 1963, creating Dowling College. Mercury International picked up the closed campus at auction for $26.1 million in 2017 and at one-time announced plans to redevelop the school as an educational center.

In the years since, local historic advocates expressed concern the property was falling into disrepair, and Mercury International sued the Town of Islip contesting the site's taxes.

The real estate listing says the offering is "as is."

What would you like to see happen to the former Dowling campus? Tell us in the comments.