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.
