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Two new office buildings at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Flying Point Road in Water Mill are near completion.
At 2 Montauk Highway the smaller of the two buildings will be 4,000 square feet, and at the adjacent property at 56 Flying Point Road the building will be 14,999 square feet. Farrell Commercial, which is charged with the construction job, also has a stake in managing the property.
A spokesperson for Farrell Commercial, a division of Farrell Building Company in Bridgehampton, said the buildings are meant for office space, and potential tenants are being vetted. Commercial units will range from a minimum of 1,000 square feet to a full building.
The two parcels on the southeastern corner where County Road 39A meets Flying Point Road and Hampton Road turns into Montauk Highway have been the site of many failed development proposals over the years, such as a mixed-use planned development district, which included five retail stores and 38 second-floor apartments totaling 80,000 square feet. The planned development district would have needed special zoning designation guided by Town Board approval, but never came into fruition. Anticipated traffic gridlock was always one of the factors that led to the proposals’ demise.
The current build was met with stiff criticism from nearby residents leading up to Planning Board approval in 2016. And that sentiment hasn’t wavered a bit.
Water Mill resident Isidore Mayrock said he expects the look of the intersection to change.
“It had a lot of start-up problems and when they did the excavation of the property a lot of these wild animals had to find new homes,” Mr. Mayrock said, referring to the previously wooded corner. “Last fall, there was a large sand pit. They were busy staging things. I had to call Farrell a couple of times to see where they were at. It’s a real eyesore, and it’s going to continue to be a real eyesore through the summer until the berms, screening and landscaping is put in.”
He added that the construction has increased traffic, a bad sign for an already congested area.
“It’s a temporary situation,” Town Planner Claire Shea said of traffic caused by construction. During the approval process in 2016, Ms. Shea acknowledged the road was “failing in some respects” and that “no one project” could solve all of its problems. Extensive traffic studies were also completed by the town and the developer at the time.
Mr. Mayrock argued more needs to be done to make Flying Point Road safer.
“It is a strange corner. What really worries me is, and what the town seems to be oblivious to, is that on Flying Point, it is a major cut-through for when Montauk Highway gets backed up,” he said. “And there are kids that ride their bikes on that road.”
He added that hundreds of trucks and cars inundate the street. To make matters worse, cars suddenly slow down as the road narrows from a two-lane road to one lane.
The cars leaving parking lots at nearby businesses currently exit onto Montauk Highway. The new construction includes a cross-access road behind the buildings that would allow cars to exit onto Flying Point Road instead.
Planning Board Chairman Dennis Finnerty recalled a plan drummed up by the state years ago to put a “massive traffic circle” at that intersection to steady the flow of traffic, but it was never pitched. He said there aren’t any plans in the works to widen Flying Point Road to alleviate traffic.
He added that the cross-access road is a start, at least.
“The fact that the land is being built on and improved by an applicant who only has a 25-year lease on that property is a little unusual. They are putting quite a lot of money into a 25-year lease, but so be it,” Mr. Finnerty said.
The parcels are owned by Killybegs Realty Corp and Cloverleaf Realty Inc., two of three companies included in Charos Joint Venture, which also owns several properties nearby including the defunct Princess Diner. The venture was compelled to allow the 25-year lease for the LLC through a court settlement.
“And 25 years goes by quick,” Mr. Finnerty added.
on Aug 27, 2018