Shinnecock's hotel plan: Low footprint, year-round, nongaming

The Shinnecock Nation’s recent vote to begin development of a five-star resort on its Westwoods property was driven by the desire for a nongaming, sustainable, year-round business on the tribe’s Hampton Bays property that still would leave much of the land undeveloped, tribal members said.

As Newsday reported Saturday, the tribe voted to approve a lease for a tribal holding company, Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings, to use 20 acres of the Westwoods tract for a five-story hotel resort that would include a 100,000-square foot convention center, retail shops and restaurants.

During the yearlong process to settle on a project, the tribe considered proposals from five different groups, including one that proposed using nearly all the land in Westwoods, tribal members said. In the end, the tribe settled on a proposal by Woodglen Investments that would use only 20 of the 100-acre Westwoods property, which extends from the south side of Sunrise Highway all the way to Peconic Bay, said former tribal vice chairman Lance Gumbs. Gumbs first conceived the idea of developing the property into a resort when he was a tribal vice chairman two years ago.

Gumbs brought the eventual winning bidder, Woodglen Investments, to the table. Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings decided Woodglen best suited the need. Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings on Saturday received approval from tribal members to lease 20 acres of land there.

Scott Maslin, head of Woodglen Investments, in a statement said, "We are going to build a world-class resort that creates jobs and opportunity for the Shinnecock Nation and is a good neighbor to the Hamptons community."

Tribal members have long known Westwoods as a waterfront jewel used for recreational, spiritual and cultural outings. It’s deeply wooded land with a high bluff overlooking a beach on Peconic Bay.

"The philosophy was to underdevelop rather than overdevelop, to tread lightly," said Taobi Silva, president of Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings. "We didn’t want something that would be culturally inappropriate. A 50-story glass tower would be inappropriate."

The proposal had to be nongaming, Gumbs said, driving the decision to include wellness facilities, a tech incubator, retail and a convention center. It also had to be year-round, to sustain itself unlike other seasonal East End businesses, some of which sharply reduce operations in the winter; and it had to be done on 20 acres.

"The main factor was that it be nongaming," Gumbs said, which led to the notion of a convention center.

Gumbs said that while he’d like to see the construction start in the next half year, he believes the facility will take two to three years to develop. He said he doesn’t anticipate traffic problems to the area, and avoiding such problems was one reason gaming wasn’t considered.

Gumbs noted that local politicians were also instrumental in pushing the tribe for a nongaming resort on their land. "During the period the tribe has been discussing a class-2 casino on the tribal reservation to the south, local politicians have made the suggestion that we should do a nice resort complex [at Westwoods] that would fit the Hamptons and be a part of the fabric of the Hamptons," Gumbs said. "That was part of the underlying thought process behind this."

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said that he had recently spoken with tribal leadership about the project and that he supports the idea of economic development and a tribal hotel on the property. But, he said, many details remain to be ironed out.

The East End needs hotel capacity, and he supports the notion of economic development for the tribe, but he wasn’t certain a 100,000-square foot convention center, or the idea of a five-story hotel, would fit. "The devil is in the details," he said, adding the town believes it would have zoning jurisdiction over the property.

"I think this will be very profitable for them without the negative impacts a casino can bring," Schneiderman said. "I want them to be prosperous. I’m willing to work with them on this. It’s a big piece of property."

Gumbs said he foresees a project that will eventually employ hundreds of people. "The goal was to create jobs not only for tribal members but the surrounding community as well," he said.

Tribal chairman Bryan Polite said the project is "going to be our pride and joy. It’s going to be a year-round resort. It will be good for the Shinnecock Nation, good for the local economy and good for New York."

Polite said the tribe’s right to build projects on its land is indisputable, but said he’ll work with local government to iron out potential issues.

"We have a sovereign right to pursue economic development on land that has been held by the Shinnecock tribe unabated for 10,000 years," both on the reservation and at Westwoods, Polite said. "But we are always looking to work with local municipalities to find reasonable solutions to any differences we may have."

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.