The real estate developer Jeremy Morton discussed his plans for the commercial buildings at 2 Main Street and 22 Long Island Avenue in Sag Harbor at a village planning board hearing on Nov. 26.
“We really are in an advantageous position,” Mr. Morton said, “to keep the existing, improve the existing, and expand the way we’d like to, and it works pretty well structurally.”
The building at 22 Long Island Avenue was the longtime location of the Sag Harbor 7-Eleven; 2 Main Street is home to K-Pasa, Espresso da Asporto, Yummilicious, and a UPS Store, the co-owner of which spoke in support of Mr. Morton’s plans.
Mr. Morton wants to add second-floor space to both buildings. He said at the presubmission conference hearing last week that 22 Long Island Avenue already has the structure and architecture that will be able to “retain and hold the weight of a second floor.”
“At 2 Main Street,” Mr. Morton said, “something that isn’t known to most because of that strange roof is we do have a second floor on the building, so that particular portion is already set up and structurally sound for a second floor.” He would fill in the center of the horseshoe-shape building at 2 Main Street with what he described at the meeting as an “access hallway” that would allow for a secondary structure with second-story space above it.
The structural review of 22 Long Island Avenue has already begun, and Mr. Morton assured the planning board that he plans to stick to the aesthetics and building regulations of Sag Harbor Village.
“I’m really pleased to hear you talk about a couple things, one of them is aesthetics,” said John Shaka, chairman of the planning board. “It is a very visible piece of property and it’s also sort of right there on the waterfront coming into the village.”
Mr. Shaka also noted that an important aspect of the properties is the access to Steinbeck Park, something Mr. Morton said he would like to improve or at least maintain.
Hilary Loomis, co-director of Save Sag Harbor, noted that while it is very early in the process, the group is keeping its eyes on the project.
“We are monitoring it as it happens,” Ms. Loomis said of the plans. “We like the idea of giving more access to the park but we need to see more.” She also expressed a hope to see a rendering of the plans soon.
“I wanted to take a moment and vouch for him, since it is his first project in Sag Harbor,” Marianne Barnett, a co-owner of the UPS Stores in Sag Harbor and Southampton, said during the public comment portion of the meeting. She said she had seen the work he did in redeveloping a building in Southampton and had been impressed.
“I did not know him, but I did witness an amazing transformation of a building that was maybe a quarter occupied and it is now fully occupied.”
She said she had already been approached by Mr. Morton, and that they have been discussing keeping the UPS Store in the space at 2 Main Street. She said she is “very hopeful that his vision and his project is able to proceed in a manner that is obviously compliant, and I think it would be a great benefit to the village.”
With the presubmission conference public hearing closed and the 10-day window to submit written comments to the board closing tomorrow, there is no set timeline for a vote before the planning board. According to Doris Alvarez, the board’s clerk, the road map for each applicant can change on a “case to case” basis.
Generally, with the hearing and comment time over, the plans and comments will be sent to village consultants at the engineering firm Nelson Pope Voorhis. The firm has 60 days to issue its report, whereby the applicant will then have the opportunity to review the report and if needed, submit a response.
It’s also likely that this project will be subject to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, due to the properties’ proximity to the water.
Mr. Morton has said he will work with the planning board and accept input from it as well as from the historic preservation and architectural review and zoning boards.
