Islip Pines complex hearing set for March

A public hearing will be held next month on an application to develop 136 acres in Holbrook into a mixed-use project that would include housing, retail and industrial space, including a hotel, cinema, restaurants and box stores.

The Islip Town Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to hold the hearing March 22, as the next part in the town approval process sought by Serota Properties for its proposed Islip Pines complex.

Serota has owned the property, at the intersection of Sunrise Highway and Veterans Memorial Highway, for more than 20 years.

The developer has said the project could create 2,600 permanent jobs and could yield up to $6 million a year in taxes, but the proposal faced stiff opposition at a public hearing in 2009 from community groups concerned by its potential impact on nearby retail outlets, traffic and the environment.

The development would include 250 “moderately priced” one- and two-bedroom condominiums on the property’s western flank, about 450,000 square feet of retail space, up to 1.3 million square feet of commercial-industrial space, and 4 acres of open space for recreational use by the public.