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Jim Tsunis

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Port Jefferson Station/Terryville civic association listens to a presentation from North Wind's Jim Tsunis on Feb. 27. Photo by Samantha Rutt

By Samantha Rutt

The recent Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association meeting saw presentations from developer group North Wind, the Suffolk County Police Department COPE report and a presentation regarding substance abuse from Kym Laube, HUGS Inc. executive director.

The Feb. 27 meeting began with reports from the board regarding the upcoming board elections. Two of the current members, Charlie McAteer and Sheila Granito, will be termed-out come March. The civic is seeking reelection for all positions and has no current candidates for the recording secretary position.

Only members in good standing may cast a vote for board elections. Those who have paid dues and attended at least three meetings from March 2023 to March 2024 remain in good standing.

Some notable community figures were in attendance: Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay and Skyler Johnson, both Assembly District 4 Democratic candidates; Council District 1 Chief Legislative Aide Amani Hosein and Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket).

The meeting carried on with reports from members of the South County Police Department offering insights from the COPE report from Jan. 23 to Feb. 27. Officer John Efstathiou mentioned for the Port Jefferson Station area overdoses have decreased from this time last year from 4 to 2. Additionally, motor vehicle incidents saw an increase from 43 to 60 over the last year – for the same January to February time period. The officer also mentioned a slight increase from last year of criminal incidences, raising to 63 from last year’s 59. 

“In my opinion, and it’s just my opinion, it’s a safe area, absolutely,” Efstathiou said.

The meeting continued with a presentation from developer Jim Tsunis of North Wind — the organization responsible for the construction of developments like Port Jefferson’s Overbay and Setauket Meadows.

Tsunis showed a 10-minute video where he shared his background and connection with the Port Jefferson Station community sharing that his father was a businessman who made an impact on his PJS community. 

The video also touched on the proposed 5.6-acre Baylis Avenue development property to become Brook Meadows. The proposed development sits along Sheep Pasture Road and Baylis Avenue, and neighbors a current apartment complex and existing railroad tracks.

The presentation also included testimony from four residents about the soon-to-be Brook Meadows site in support of the development — most reasoning with the residential zoning the development would provide over the existing industrial zoning.

Following the video, Tsunis addressed the civic association and their questions. 

Many concerns were raised for the proposed density of the site at 56 units. Civic members asked Tsunis questions about the use of the property, suggesting it could be used for single-family homes instead. Fear of increased density was also raised by Englebright in his statement to Tsunis. 

Englebright shared his experience growing up and around the Island saying that he has experienced the loss of suburbia and does not want that to continue.

“We’re getting into the realm of causing me to wonder whether we’re going to lose a suburban lifestyle over time,” Englebright said. “A density that is urban is being proposed repeatedly. I just want to commend the possibility of a cumulative environmental impact statement. I think that makes a lot of sense — piecemealing what happened to Bayside — there’s nothing left of what I was familiar with when I grew up.”

Additional concerns arouse touching on added traffic from the development, with feedback from other civic attendees supporting the single-car traffic from the residential zoning over the potential industrial-zoned traffic.

Tsunis defended his group’s proposal, mentioning the increase of affordable housing units to the original plan, suggesting a monthly rental price point of around $2,100 for a two-bedroom apartment offered by Brook Meadows. Tsunis also noted an addition to the buffer from the road surrounding the development, a concern raised at previous civic gatherings.

Many civic attendees commented on the presentation and civic president Ira Costell welcomed Tsunis back to continue the conversation as both organizations seek a compromise.

Following the North Wind presentation, Laube from HUGS Inc. shared a PowerPoint presentation, addressing addiction, substance abuse and sharing several statistics relating to these issues.

Laube spoke to the increased ability to purchase substances like cannabis and alcohol as dispensaries are opening and, unlike the past, alcohol sold in various locations rather than solely at liquor stores.

The HUGS representative’s presentation included anecdotes from her lived experiences eliciting many reactions from the audience, offering moments of amusement and response to points made. Laube urged the audience to look at each situation a little differently, to seek the truth and to get involved.

The next civic meeting will take place March 26 at the Comsewogue Public Library. For more information regarding the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association visit its website at www.pjstca.org. 

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Open space across the LIRR railroad tracks in Port Jeff Station for proposed 48-unit housing development. Photo by Lynn Hallarman

By Lynn Hallarman

Monday night, Jan. 8, members of three civic associations — Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station/Terryville and Three Village — gathered to hear the case for a proposed residential housing complex adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road tracks in Port Jefferson Station. 

Hauppauge developer Jim Tsunis, managing member of Northwind Group, in front of a crowded room at the Port Jefferson Free Library, reviewed the architectural plans and concept renderings for a 48-unit multifamily development to be located on 5.6 acres of fallow farmland at 16 Baylis Ave. known as Brook Meadows. The site plan includes a clubhouse, outdoor recreational areas, a playground, barbecue pits and parking. All the units are to be two-bedroom rental apartments with eight units set aside for affordable housing. 

Ana Hozyainova, president of the Port Jefferson Civic Association, moderated the discussion. Approximately 20 audience members spoke for and against the proposed development. Present at the meeting as observers were Brookhaven Town District 1 Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook), Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and the recently appointed chairman of the Village of Port Jefferson Planning Board, Ray DiBiase. 

Tsunis’ site application, reviewed by the Suffolk County Planning Commission, requesting a zoning change from light industrial to residential was disapproved in October. The Brookhaven Town Planning Board will then consider the commission’s recommendation in their deliberation about the zoning change. No final decision has been made to this point in time. 

The overarching concern noted by the commission in their report was the placement of a dense residential community among several industrial properties, including proximity to the former Lawrence Aviation Industries site. The Monday night civic meeting focused on allowing community members to voice their concerns and review those cited by the commission directly with Tsunis. 

Lively discussion

Comments from the audience were predominantly about the big-picture impacts of the project on the surrounding communities, with traffic issues as the number one concern. Several residents pointed to already glutted roadways around the proposed development and intolerable spillage into neighboring residential streets of commuters, trying to find a way around a backup.

“In the last five years, you can wait through three lights if you were on Sheep Pasture Road before you get through,” Port Jeff village resident Suzette Smookler said. 

Another longtime Port Jeff resident, Mary Negra, received loud applause for her statement about the cumulative impacts of multiple housing projects over the past few years on the overall quality of life in the village. 

“Every development adds another burden, and the layer of burdening has become untenable,” she said.

A flash point for Port Jeff civic members has been the exit and entry route to the proposed development. The access, which crosses the railroad tracks, is the only way out — this single access worries civic members about how residents would escape under emergency conditions. Tsunis responded to this concern by informing the group that he is revising the plan to include a “gated emergency route” for fire trucks and ambulances. 

According to the Suffolk County Planning Commission report, this one access point flows into a residential area in Port Jefferson village, adding more stress to the intersection of Sheep Pasture Road and Route 112. The report predicts several hundred more vehicle trips per day would pose “added public inconvenience to existing and new residents.” 

Several residents voiced opinions in favor of the development. Some people viewed residential housing as a better option than using the land for light industry. Other residents expressed their desire to see the Upper Port shopping district revitalized and perceived more residential development supporting that goal. Others wanted more affordable local housing so their children can live in the area. 

Still, several residents pushed back on the notion that more housing leads to community revitalization, pointing out the incremental loss of supermarkets, hardware stores, post offices and other services as commercial areas are turned into housing. 

“Port Jefferson has lost most of its shopping. All this traffic on 112 is being pushed through to Route 347 for people [to find what they need],” another resident said. 

Kornreich told TBR News Media that the vast majority of the calls that come into his office are opposed to the addition of any new residential properties.

“Residents feel it’s hard to justify using residential units as a tool to revitalize an area which is going to just add more population and more stress to our infrastructure,” he said.

The meeting closed with a vote limited to Port Jefferson civic members to express the association’s agreement or not with the recommendation of the Suffolk County Planning Commission report  to disapprove of the zoning change. The vote came in at 14 in agreement with the disapproval of the zoning change from light industry to residential. Five votes disagreed with the decision to deny the zoning change application. One person was undecided. 

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Indian Hills Country Club. File photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

By Raymond Janis

The Preserve at Indian Hills, a planned retirement community along the Indian Hills golf course in Fort Salonga, is seeking approvals from two Town of Huntington boards. 

The Preserve is being spearheaded by Jim Tsunis, managing member of Hauppauge-based development firm The Northwind Group. Applications with the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board must be approved before construction can begin. 

“We’re building an extraordinary community on over 150 acres of property,” Tsunis said in a phone interview. “In addition, we’re preserving over 120 acres of the golf course. This is a win-win situation for the residents of Fort Salonga.”

According to Tsunis, 74 townhouse units will be built along with renovation of the clubhouse and construction of a fitness center. Under Huntington code, a golf course cannot be operated within a residential area without a special use permit from the ZBA. With this approval, The Preserve at Indian Hills can legally function as a golf community. 

“Because they are changing the location and the size of the clubhouse in their plans, they are required to come before the zoning board to request a continuation of their use permit to have a golf course on the premises,” ZBA chair Jerry Asher said in a phone interview. 

The application has sparked opposition from some Fort Salonga property owners. The Fort Salonga Property Owners Association is a civic group that formed to resist redevelopment at Indian Hills under the current plan.

“We want to make it clear we are not against development on the golf course,” said FSPOA president John Hayes in a phone interview. “But this plan with 74 homes, plus the expanded golf club, will have a detrimental effect on the community for the short and long terms.”

FSPOA’s objections to the project include its size and scope, proximity to surrounding neighborhoods, the potential for environmental harm and diminishing property values of neighboring homeowners.

“A number of the neighbors got their appraisals and [the existing homes] may, in effect, lose 10% of their values,” Hayes said. “The neighborhood is extremely concerned. We do not understand how they are planning to go ahead with this.”

By keeping the existing golf course intact, Tsunis believes that the project will preserve, rather than disrupt, the natural and historical character of the land and its surrounding area.

“Everyone that lives in the area references Indian Hills Country Club for their location,” he said. “There would be single-family homes twice or three times the size of my townhouses built all over the area if I didn’t preserve the golf course.”

Detractors demand greater initiative by the ZBA in a last-ditch effort to impose greater restrictions on development while the project remains in the planning phase. However, Asher indicates that the ZBA has a narrow purview over this matter.

“The only [jurisdiction] the zoning board has is whether or not we will grant them a use permit to run a golf course,” Asher said. “We don’t have jurisdiction over anything else. The Planning Board has jurisdiction over all of the other things.”

The Planning Board will hold its own public hearing on Feb. 16 without a vote, contrary to recent misreporting that a vote of final approval will be held on that date.

“I’ve read those reports and that’s inaccurate,” said Planning Board chair Paul Ehrlich. “We won’t be making decisions on the 16th. It really is just for the board to hear the comments.”

Andy Rapiejko, a Fort Salonga resident opposing the project, denounces the Planning Board’s decision to hold this hearing without the ZBA first granting the special use permit.

“In many steps, the process isn’t logical,” Rapiejko said. “Why would they have a hearing without a vote? Wouldn’t you want the community to have the information on what the ZBA determines?” 

Aware of the importance of its upcoming decision, the ZBA has brought in
outside help.

“We are hiring [a consulting firm] called H2M to give us some advice on how we ought to resolve the application before us,” Asher said. 

The ZBA is not expected to hold a final vote on the special use application until early April.

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Indian Hills Country Club. File photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

By Chris Cumella

The Town of Huntington Planning Board will soon be releasing results from their research on the geographical region in their Final Environmental Impact Statement for The Preserve at Indian Hills project.

“In all of my communities, I reach out to area residents to gain their input to achieve the best results.”

— Jim Tsunis

Northwind Group CEO Jim Tsunis said he is determined to start construction on what he said would be one of the most extraordinary projects on the East Coast. The Preserve is a planned senior residential community through the construction of new units along the Indian Hills golf course and country club, giving residents views from what Tsunis describes as “one of the most beautiful country clubs on Long Island.”

The goal of Hauppauge-based developers Northwind and Nelson Pope Voorhis, land surveyors of Melville, is to respect the country club’s land while blending in a new community. They hope to see home values in the area soar over time. Tsunis’ development team said it has mitigated the environmental impacts from constructing these units through public input. 

“In all of my communities, I reach out to area residents to gain their input to achieve the best results,” Tsunis said.

NPV submitted a response detailing specific comments that were addressed to them through the gathering of town input, such as the requests for marked pedestrian crosswalks and maintaining steady traffic of vehicles, pedestrians and golf carts, all of which have been claimed to be resolved.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement was designed in 2019 to gather public feedback and utilize it to adjust the project to bridge compromises between the developers and residents. The Town Board presented a notice of completion for the FEIS in August 2020. However, some in the community thought the inquiries were anything but complete.

“The Town of Huntington now has to do what they call a findings statement,” said John Hayes, president of the Fort Salonga Property Owners Association. “They write down their recommendations for the developers and the proposed development.”

Hayes and the association have opposed much of the development’s progress since the draft became viewable in 2019. He expressed his surprise once he found out the FEIS was proposed to be completed from what he calls “an understatement” that he and several local community members highly contest.

Of the total 86 units expected to be built around the Indian Hills Country Club’s perimeter, 36 of them reside a few hundred feet from a labeled coastal erosion hazard area. This 2,500-foot bluff of land is nestled between the Long Island Sound and the country club, chiseled by the rising water levels every spring and summer, washed away and cleared by the passing of every fall and winter.

“The problem is not only that you have this 2,500-foot fault line, but if you are going to build 86 houses, the nitrogen level is governed by wastewater. That makes it even more unstable.”

— John Hayes

Hayes detailed how the nitrogen levels in the Sound could increase with the new units’ construction.

“The problem is not only that you have this 2,500-foot fault line, but if you are going to build 86 houses, the nitrogen level is governed by wastewater,” Hayes said. “That makes it even more unstable.”

Tsunis and his team will require a preliminary subdivision approval from the Town of Huntington in order to start work soon.

The rate of shore recession proves worrisome for environmental professionals concerned that winter storms will continue to remove sediment on the beach and tear away at the base of the bluffs.

“It’s dangerous,” said state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), chair of the state’s Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation. “There’s a very large body of clay that runs along the base of the bluff. The weight of water in the soil is enough to squeeze toothpaste-like clay onto the beach every winter.”

Englebright and his state Assembly committee colleagues were able to measure the rate of erosion in the Baiting Hollow area of Riverhead, where they found dune forms that ran north and south, more than a mile in length from top to bottom. Today, he says that what is left is no more than a few hundred yards of dunes, the rest of which has been eroded since sea levels increased in the Sound.

While reviews for the Indian Hills project are still currently underway to maintain and improve the development shortly, there is still a distance between the property owners association and Northwind.

“We have never turned down talking with the developers,” Hayes said. “We met with them more than three times, and yet we have never been anywhere near an agreement.”

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Rev. Demetrios Calogredes, a Greek Orthodox priest, above, blessed the lot during the ceremony as Supervisor Ed Wehrheim and Vincent Puleo, town clerk, look on. Photo by Julianne Mosher

A new 55-and-older rental apartment project has been in the works in Nesconset, and as of last week, ground has officially been broken with plans full speed ahead.

Town officials joined developers from Hauppauge-based The Northwind Group Oct. 15 to show their support for The Preserve at Smithtown. Alongside the recently cleared lot off of Smithtown Boulevard in Nesconset near Chestnut Street, several members from the We Are Smithtown civic group protested against the development. 

Protesters from the civic group We Are Smithtown, below, included James Bouklas and Phyllis Hart, president and vice president of the civic group. Photo by Julianne Mosher

“We saw data from the town about what people wanted in a master plan,” James Bouklas, president of the group said. “And it isn’t this project. The residents overwhelmingly want less development, not more, lower density, not higher, they want walkable communities and amenities, like a community center.”

“The town is interested in development for the sake of development,” he added. “Their mantra is, build, baby, build.”

The project is planned to cost about $47 million and should be completed within the next two years. But according to Town of Smithtown planning director, Peter Hans, there has been approval for the site since 1988, initially with another developer. That project called for 192 units, and now, under The Northwind Group development, there will be 180 units built on 20 vacant acres.

“It won’t be heavily visible from Smithtown Boulevard,” he said. “A lot of the wood will be preserved.”

And at last Thursday’s groundbreaking, the elected officials all agreed this new development, despite what the naysayers might think, will have a positive impact.

“Everything we’re doing here is to help our economy,” town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said at the groundbreaking. “Because of the high taxes, people are leaving. We want to keep our community thriving.”

Vincent Puleo, the town clerk and president of the Nesconset Chamber of Commerce, said residents of the project will bring $11 million in disposable income to the area. “Smithtown Boulevard will become downtown driven,” he said. “The positives outweigh the negatives 100%.”

“Smithtown Boulevard will become downtown driven. The positives outweigh the negatives 100%.”

—Vincent Puleo

Jim Tsunis, managing member of Northwind, said he and his team are looking forward to bringing the project to provide new housing for Smithtown seniors.

“They will move out of their houses, get an apartment here and spend their money downtown,” he said. 

“Turning that property into a senior-living development opens the door for Nesconset, which is a game changer,” town spokesperson Nicole Garguilo said. “Nesconset never had that centralized business district, but now Smithtown Boulevard will have that.”

But the peaceful protesters stood their ground.

“We are not against housing for seniors,” Bouklas said. “We are against density in our already dense neighborhoods, traffic on our congested roads and, most importantly, tax breaks for developers while the rest of us pay full price.”

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Long Island started its reopening process Wednesday, May 27, with construction projects like Overbay getting back to work immediately. Photo by Kyle Barr

With construction sites in Port Jeff put on pause due to the pandemic, Main Street has seen and heard a significant lack of hammers and power tools. But as Long Island begins the reopening process, with Phase 1 allowing for construction to start again, local projects are planning their restarts, though this time with additional precautions.

With its skeleton left exposed for the past two months, the Overbay Apartment Complex is now once again set for continued construction. Located along West Broadway next to the Shipyard complex, Overbay started its construction again Wednesday morning.

Overbay LLC, a subsidiary of Hauppauge-based The Northwind Group, has been in front of the project since the land was first purchased in 2013 for $1.8 million. 

Jim Tsunis, managing member of Northwind, said there are no site plan changes from what was finalized several months ago, though it will be some time before he can relate the new timeline for when construction will finish and for people to start moving in.

“It feels great to be back up and running — I’m hoping all other businesses will reopen soon,” Tsunis said. “It’s been an extremely tough time for all residents over the last couple of months.”

Otherwise, in terms of safety, he said his office has received reopening affirmation from the state and workers would adhere to the New York COVID-19 construction safety guidelines, where construction workers try to maintain some distance during operations.

The 54,000-square-foot “nautical style” apartment building will be on the now-vacant site of the former Islander Boat Center building, which was demolished in 2017. 

The complex is set to consist of 52 rentals with each expected to be 1,000 square feet each. Amenities include an 800-square-foot common room and a fitness facility. The complex will also contain an office area. 

Parking will consist of 83 parking stalls for residents of Overbay and their guests. Parking is expected to be located on the exterior of the facility to the side and rear. The property borders a small creek on its southern end.

Another site, the Brookport apartments, is going where once sat Cappy’s Carpets. The area has remained cleared for weeks despite the original building being demolished and pilings already installed. 

Brooks Partners LLC, the company name attached to the project, is a subsidiary of Port Jefferson-based The Gitto Group. Rob Gitto, vice president of the group, did not respond to email and phone requests for comment by press time.

The apartment complex will include 46 units and a set of retail shops underneath. Designs intend it to fit in amongst surrounding stores including the neighboring CVS, whose property is also owned by The Gitto Group. The project is set to have 78 spaces of parking for its residents and for those working in the retail stores. 

Both apartment complexes have received a payment in lieu of tax agreement from the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency. 

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Barbara Ransome and Mary Joy Pipe of the Port Jeff chamber of commerce stand with Jim Tsunis and family at the groundbreaking ceremony for the developing Overbay Apartment complex. Photo by Kyle Barr

Developers planted a golden shovel in the ground at 217 W. Broadway. On its shaft, it read one word, “Overbay.”

Hauppauge-based The Northwind Group, owners of the Overbay Apartment Complex, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 30. Jim Tsunis, CEO of Northwind, was joined by several members of the Tsunis clan in celebrating the start of construction. The CEO said construction should take about a year.

Pilings are already in the ground, Tsunis said. These had been screw-in pilings, which took around two weeks to put into the ground, compared to the several months of loud hammering for the neighboring Shipyard apartment complex.

Overbay LLC, a subsidiary of Northwind, has been in front of the project since the land was first purchased in 2013 for $1.8 million. 

The 54,000-square-foot “nautical style” apartment building will be on the now-vacant site of the former Islander Boat Center building, which was demolished in 2017. 

The complex is set to consist of 52 rentals with each expected to be 1,000 square feet each. Amenities include an 800-square-foot common room and a fitness facility. The complex will also contain an office area. 

Parking will consist of 83 parking stalls for residents of Overbay and their guests, Tsunis said in an email. Parking is expected to be located on the exterior of the facility to the side and rear. The property borders a small creek on its southern end.

The project is just the latest apartment complex in Port Jefferson, sitting alongside the Shipyard complex and down the hill from The Hills at Port Jefferson in Upper Port. At the same time construction begins at Overbay, demolition started and is expected to be finished shortly at the now-vacant Cappy’s Carpets building. Local developer The Gitto Group is planning for a 46-unit complex called The Brookport.

Alison LaPointe, the special village attorney for the Building & Planning department, said the planning board granted final approval for the Gitto project Sept. 12 and the department has already supplied a demolition permit. The developer has applied for a building permit, but LaPointe said it has not yet been granted as it is going out to an engineering firm for additional review. There is no current timeline on when a building permit will be granted for the project.

A representative of The Gitto Group was not immediately available for comment.

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Aerial view of Indian Hills Golf Course, where developers want to build 98 townhouses.

A proposed development at Indian Hills Golf Course in Fort Salonga is once again drawing criticism and the ire of a community. A public hearing scheduled for Sept. 18 will open discussions on the environmental impact statement for the construction of 98 town houses. 

In August of 2018, the Town of Huntington’s planning board issued a positive declaration to the developers, Hauppauge-based Northwind Group. The environmental impact statement review is the next step of the approval process. 

The upcoming presentation will focus on how potential development would impact water quality of local watersheds, the area’s steep slopes, coastal erosion zones, traffic and other issues.

John Hayes, president of the Fort Salonga Property Owners Association, said the proposed development is massive and will negatively impact local roadways and surrounding wetlands, among other things. 

“We’ve been opposed to the development, it’s not something the community wants,” he said.

The project, dubbed the Preserve at Indian Hills, is a 55-and-over clustered housing development. In addition to the 98 town houses, the project also includes a new fitness center with an expanded clubhouse alongside the existing golf course.  

Previously, the association asked town officials to place a moratorium on new developments in the Crab Meadow Watershed area, which includes Indian Hills. It came after town officials released a draft of the Crab Meadow Watershed Plan, done by GEI Consultants. 

The study’s goal was developing a community-driven stewardship plan that highlights best practices in the future management of the watershed area, according to a March 2018 TBR News Media article. It also focused on evaluating the environmental conditions of the land around the Jerome A. Ambro Memorial Wetland Preserve in Fort Salonga.

“The study showed that the watershed area is built out to its zoned density, we believe there shouldn’t be close to 100 homes built there,” Hayes said. 

The proposed development has been a decisive topic in the Huntington community for close to three years. Over the years, the developers have tried to change zoning for the property from 1-acre single family to open space cluster district, in the hopes of building homes on the property. They also changed the initial plans from building 108 units to 98. 

“We expect public comment on our application which is permitted within our current zoning,”   Jim Tsunis, managing member of The Northwind Group said in a statement. “Our professionals will address all concerns during the hearing on Sept. 18 and the extended public comment period.”

The president of the association said they remain skeptical of the development and plan to attend the upcoming planning board hearing. 

“We will be there to challenge their findings and we’ll counter their points,” Hayes said. 

Residents can review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the town’s website under the Planning and Environment Department page: www.huntingtonny.gov/indian-hills-deis-july2019. 

After the public hearing, the town will be accepting public comments through Oct. 18 either online or letters can be mailed to: Huntington Town Hall, Department of Planning & Environment (Room 212), 100 Main St., Huntington, NY 11743.

Following public comments, the next steps for the development would be a final environmental impact statement and a possible preliminary subdivision hearing.

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A rendering of the Overbay apartment complex. Image from The Northwind Group

By Kevin Redding

A new, 52-unit apartment complex being built in Port Jefferson Village this spring just got a financial boost from the town.

The $10.8 million project, which will be called Overbay, was recently approved for a package of economic incentives that includes sales tax exemption and payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, by the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency.

During a Jan. 10 meeting, members of the IDA board announced the approval for the Hauppauge-based development company, The Northwind Group, to construct the 54,000-square-foot “nautical-style” apartment building on the now-vacant site of the former Islander Boat Center building on West Broadway, which was demolished by the company in February. The IDA received Northwind’s application in 2015.

Overbay would stand as the third new apartment complex built in the village in recent years. With the IDA’s assistance, it is expected to have considerably lower rent costs than the others in the area, according to Lisa Mulligan, IDA chief executive officer.

Prices for the units have not been established yet. When Northwind managing member Jim Tsunis received approval by the village building and planning department for the apartments in 2015, he estimated rents would range between $1,800 and $2,200 a month, Mulligan said.

“Just in general, the need for affordable rental housing in the Town of Brookhaven is well documented and significant, so our IDA board of directors felt this was a project that would help fill that need,” Mulligan said, adding Overbay will be especially helpful for college students and seniors. “The clientele is anybody who is looking to move out of their home and into something that’s a little easier to upkeep. There aren’t enough legal rentals that are [affordable]. A development like this one provides that option.”

Frederick Braun, chairman of the IDA, spoke of Overbay’s benefits in a press release.

“This project will bring much-needed rental housing to an area near to Stony Brook University and Port Jefferson’s Mather and St. Charles hospitals and spur additional spending in the village and the town,” he said.

The complex is also expected to create two permanent jobs — Mulligan speculated perhaps a rental agent and a building superintendent — and 150 construction jobs over a two-year period. IDA financial incentive agreements typically require the creation of jobs, both permanent and construction related.

Tsunis said the incentives will help Northwind offset the Islander Boat Center building’s $200,000 demolition costs.

“It’s going to enable me to spend more money on the building, so the end result is there will be a better product for the residents of Port Jefferson,” Tsunis said. “It’ll definitely bring people into the downtown area that will spend money at the local shops.”

Community response has long been mixed on the project, even within the village board.

Overbay’s eastern neighbor, The Shipyard apartment complex, which was constructed by Tritec Development Group, opened in January. That project secured a financial assistance package from the Suffolk County IDA and will make PILOT payments to the village for 15 years in lieu of property taxes.

The influx of new village residents without the benefit of increased property tax revenue has been a point of contention for property owners.

“I think it’s a real disaster for the village that they were able to get this financial assistance,” 30-year village resident Molly Mason said in a previous interview, referring to The Shipyard. “It’s like we’re giving away the store.”

Village Mayor Margot Garant and the board of trustees previously opposed the financial assistance granted to Tritec.

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The Overbay apartments are planned for the former Islander Boat Center on West Broadway, above. File photo

The developer of a controversial apartment complex planned for Port Jefferson’s West Broadway may get financial assistance to help build it.

The Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency announced last week that it had accepted an application for consideration from Hauppauge-based Overbay LLC, which has approval from the Port Jefferson Village Planning Board to construct two 35-foot buildings containing 52 rental apartments.

Overbay is owned by North Shore developer Jim Tsunis.

Some residents have spoken against the project, slated for the corner of Brook Road at the former Islander Boat Center property, with concerns about increased traffic and density. Part of their resistance is linked to the fact that another apartment complex called the Residences at Port Jefferson — a 112-unit building — is due to go up next door at the corner of West Broadway and Barnum Avenue, in the place of the former Heritage Inn. TRITEC Real Estate Company in East Setauket is leading that development.

“We don’t want to be urbanized,” resident Phil Griffith said at a public hearing earlier this year. “It is just too much.”

In both projects, neither of which required variances for approval, parking will be contained underneath the apartments and the housing will replace longtime community eyesores at village’s western entry point.

According to the IDA, which aims to boost the economy within Brookhaven Town by assisting businesses in locating or expanding in the area, it will consider Overbay’s application for financial assistance over the coming few months and will hold a public hearing on the matter.

“We’re pleased to consider this application for this project, which will grow the much-needed supply of rental housing near to Stony Brook University and Port Jefferson’s Mather and St. Charles hospitals,” IDA Chairman Fred Braun said in a press release.

The three-story apartment buildings are expected to create two permanent jobs and 150 construction jobs over a two-year period, the IDA said. Rents could range from $1,800 to $2,200.

There is no commercial component to the Overbay project, though there had been commercial space included in previous proposals for the site.

The IDA has already assisted another apartment project in the area this year, the Rail Realty complex along Texaco Avenue in upper Port. That project, dubbed the Hills at Port Jefferson, will include two three-story buildings for a total of 74 rentals — a mixture of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments — and underground parking.

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