Technology creates custom waves away from the beach in new Shirley surf park 

A dream that started in the mind of a Long Island boy after he experienced Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon was on its way to becoming reality Thursday when ground was officially broken for a long-planned surf park in Shirley.

The Crest Surf Club, which will be a complex for surfing enthusiasts located on a 3.5 acre site on 86 Precision Drive in an industrial park off William Floyd Parkway, will use wave generation technology to create custom waves year-round in a 55,000-square foot -pool for all surfing skill levels.

Also included in the project, which will now cost at least $35 million to build — more than tripling the original estimate — are a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse, a restaurant and bar with indoor/outdoor lounge spaces, alcoves and nooks for business meetings, surfing instruction, spa, wellness and workout areas, locker rooms and concierge services.

Construction is expected to be completed in the late summer or early fall of 2024. Originally the price tag was about $10 million but the pandemic and supply chain issues caused building prices to skyrocket since the project was first announced in 2019, according to Brett Portera, who founded Crest Surf Clubs with his father, Chris, both of Islip.

They plan to eventually open Crest parks throughout the country and world. Chris Portera, who is a co-CEO with his dad, says funding for the project is coming from investors, world-renowned surfers, and others comprising a group of 100 people named “founders.”

Membership starts at $3,500 per person and other fees and whether the public will have access to the club is still to be determined Brett Portera said.

“We spent eight years on the design and I’ve spent 15 years dreaming of the project,” said 27-year-old Brett Portera during Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony. He has been surfing since he was about 5, and the idea to create a surfing facility for Long Island came after Chris Portera and some family friends rented out Typhoon Lagoon for private surfing. Typhoon Lagoon has one of the world’s largest outdoor wave pools.

A test tank resembling a fish tank was even built in the Portera’s garage to develop the wave technology.

“This has gone from a little boy’s dream to a hole in the ground that will produce some of the best waves on Long Island, “Brett Portera, says.”

Waves at the club will vary from 2 feet to 7 feet, and rival the best waves Chris Portera says he has encountered during his many surfing trips to places including Hawaii, California and North Carolina. He is 62 and has been surfing since he was 25.

“Seeing a hole in the ground was a wave of emotion for me,” said former pro surfer Leif Engstrom, 34, of Montauk. “Wave pools are changing the game in the surf world like skate parks changed the skating world. They’re places to practice your tricks over and over again.”

Other places in the country with wave pools include California, New Jersey and Texas.

The club site was vacant when purchased by the Porteras.