Construction On Third Building In Hampton Business District At Gabreski Airport In Westhampton Expected To Begin

Representatives of Rechler Equity Partners, a real estate and construction development company that is building and operating the Hampton Business District at Francis S. Gabreski Airport, plan to break ground on construction of a third building in the Westhampton business park within the next few weeks.

“We’re excited,” the company’s managing partner, Mitchell Rechler, said. “We anticipate completion by the first quarter of next year.”

The Southampton Town Planning Board is expected to make a final decision within the next month on the site plan application for the construction, which falls under Phase 2A of the Gabreski Airport Planned Development District, or PDD—a zoning mechanism that can allow for more intense developments in exchange for community benefits.

The plan submitted by Rechler Equity includes the construction of a 64,360-square-foot building at 215 Roger’s Way, which is located in the southwest portion of the business district, just to the right of the main entrance, ahead of the existing building and parking lot that sits beside the Walking Figure statue.

If approved by the board, the construction will sit on 6.8 acres and will include a parking lot with 198 spaces.

The building is expected to be used for office, showroom, warehouse and industrial uses. According to Mr. Rechler, 30,000 square feet will be used for office space, and the remaining space will feature smaller “industrial-type spaces,” which are expected to each be between 2,000 square feet and 3,000 square feet. The smaller spaces will consist of approximately 10 percent office space and 90 percent manufacturing and warehouse space, Mr. Rechler explained.

According to Planning Board Chairman Dennis Finnerty, the site plan application has reached the public comment phase, and the board likely will vote on the plan at a meeting on June 14 or 28.

The proposal was initially discussed by board members at their regular meeting on May 24, when Guy Germano, the Holbrook-based attorney representing the Rechlers, presented the new site plan. “We are providing all of the parking that is required,” he said at the meeting.

The airport PDD was originally approved in 2007 and, according to Mr. Finnerty, the Gabreski PDD does not have an expiration date. “It’s a permanent change of zone,” he said.

PDDs are planning tools that allow developers to surpass zoning restrictions on their properties in exchange for a community benefit. The PDD zoning legislation, which was passed by the Town Board in September 1995, became the subject of public criticism and, in 2017, the Town Board decided to stop reviewing and accepting new PDD applications.