Patchogue trustees OK downtown development

Patchogue's village trustees last night approved a $100-million downtown development many local leaders predict will revitalize the community's Four Corners area and attract young professionals to live in the South Shore community.

East Setauket developer Tritec needed village approval to build on the site of the former Swezey's department store and received it by a 4-to-3 vote. The project calls for 17,000 square feet of office space, 45,000 square feet of retail space and 291 apartments.

Mayor Paul Pontieri, who voted for the project that he has championed for months, said before the meeting the approval is evidence that Patchogue can be "a community at the forefront of moving the Island back to prosperity." He said the board overcame a fear of parking woes -- and concerns that the apartments could lapse into substandard housing if they are not maintained -- to approve the project.

"My biggest concern is that we've come a long way in the revitalization of the downtown, and if we allow opportunities like this to pass by, and it sits for another 10 year, we reverse revitalization," Pontieri said.

The project -- called Patchogue New Village -- is slated to include a public green between Lake and West Main streets. It will also have a parking garage with 511 spaces, developers said.

Deputy Mayor Stephen McGiff, who voted against the project, said Patchogue's housing stock already includes a disproportionate amount of rentals. More than half of the village's housing units are rentals, he said.

"The idea that the young people of Long Island need affordable housing, that's true. My retort to that is the people of Patchogue have shouldered that burden for much too long," he said.

A previous plan called for a 106-room hotel, but potential hotel operators balked at the idea when the economy began to worsen, Tritec officials have said.

Tritec purchased the property in 2007. The developer then began talks with village officials about how to turn the corner of Main Street and North Ocean Avenue from a blighted area into a bustling commercial center.

Robert Loscalzo, Tritec's chief operating officer, said the project is a solution to Long Island "losing its young people" because of Nassau and Suffolk counties' lack of housing options.

The apartments will also bring new business to the restaurants and theater in Patchogue's downtown, said Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island, a "smart growth" advocacy group based in Northport.

"It's going to bring rental units that are going to be very useful for the downtown revival," Alexander said.

The first phase of the project, which included the office space and about 9,500 square feet of retail, was approved in 2009 and completed last year, Loscalzo said. Phase two, which includes the apartments and the rest of the retail space, could break ground by the end of the year, he said.

The entire project will consist of six buildings, with the tallest five stories, Loscalzo said.