Plans for massive Islandia development rejected by Suffolk County Planning Commission

A development large enough to boost Islandia's population by at least 10% was rejected by the Suffolk County Planning Commission in a resolution released this week, marking the latest setback in a decadeslong series of unrealized efforts to overhaul the property.

The project site is about 13 vacant acres at the southwest corner of Veterans Memorial Highway and Motor Parkway. It’s less than 1,000 feet north of the Long Island Expressway and roughly 1¼ miles west of Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel.

Feldman Properties Inc. wants to build 366 apartments, 50 hotel rooms, a 5,000-square-foot restaurant, 9,975 square feet of retail space and 809 parking spaces on the site, according to a county report. It would total 551,335 square feet and include two five-story buildings as well as a one-story shop.

The complex would be able to house at least a 10th of Islandia’s roughly 3,600 residents; the latter number is according to U.S. Census estimates from 2023.

Local governments such as Islandia's are required by state and county law to refer certain development decisions, such as zoning changes and project site plans, to the county planning commission for review. If a village votes on those issues without first letting the county weigh in, the decision can be set aside.

The planning commission rejected the Feldman Properties plan and zoning changes needed to make it happen in the resolution, which was released Tuesday. It follows the commissioners' 8-2 vote against backing the project on Jan. 7.

Density, building height cited

The board sided with county staffers who raised issues ranging from there being “no substantial public benefit” offered by the village to justify such a dense development to the impact the project would have on the “character” of the area.

“It would significantly alter the character of development in the surrounding area,” the resolution stated.

It added that the project's needed zoning changes, which include allowing for-rent apartments in the village's Main Street Planned Development District, "would tend to establish a precedent for further such development density in the Village of Islandia.” 

Feldman Properties declined to comment.

In its resolution, the planning commission argued buildings on the property "should be a maximum of 4 stories or a maximum 60 feet in height" so it doesn't overwhelm the street frontage and is in line with other properties in the area.

It argued the density uptick was not justified without the developer offering perks, such as reserving a portion of the units for lower-income residents. The resolution also cited the plan being in "direct contradiction" with the village's walkability goals, and the commission recommended more work be done to preserve wildlife.

The planning commission’s vote is only a recommendation to Islandia officials. The village can still decide to approve the zoning change and project plans, though Islandia would have to explain that decision to the county in a report within 30 days, according to Tuesday's resolution.

Islandia’s spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Kyle Strober, executive director of developer's group Association for a Better Long Island, defended the project's size and density.

"It’s what would be needed to be financially viable," he said. "It’s not egregious particularly because it’s in this area with commercial office space nearby and not surrounded by single-family homes.

“Long Island needs more housing. Period," he added.

Land eyed for development since 1990s

Plans to develop the property date back to 1998, when there was a preliminary proposal for a hotel and office building, both of which would have been four stories. The commission tentatively approved a hotel-office project in 2000, according to a county staff report from Jan. 7, but that project never materialized.

About four years later, the county planning commission rejected Islandia’s request for approval of a new "high rise” village zoning district, which would have allowed condo and restaurant buildings up to 14 stories tall on that property, according to the county's staff report on the property.

County planners again opposed a project pitch in 2008, which, according to the Jan. 7 report, had been named Islandia Village Center. That development would have been nearly 500,000 square feet, which was more than three times larger than the proposal Suffolk County backed eight years earlier.

The county planning commission’s reasoning at the time was that the project was “spot zoning that … would be an over-intensification of the use of the premises and would significantly alter the character of the area on the border between” Islip Town and Islandia, according to the Jan. 7 report.

Islandia ultimately overrode the county’s 2008 decision and approved the zoning change needed for Islandia Village Center. The county report states the project's “site plan was not commenced,” and it's unclear why the development never broke ground.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.