Eyeing Bel-Aire Cove Potential Redevelopment in Hampton Bays, Projects Narrowed to Two by Southampton Town Officials

The Southampton Town Board has narrowed down the list of hopefuls looking to redevelop the former Bel-Aire Cove Motel property in Hampton Bays to two candidates.

One, First Dunes Inc., envisions a hotel/condominium use. The second, Rich Carozza of GMRC Modular, wants to craft housing for seniors.

A select group of community leaders was invited to the board’s February 23 work session to view presentations detailing the proposals and asked to weigh in. Those who offered personal opinions favored the quasi-hotel use over the senior housing.

Board members next want to take the options out for a broader community look-see.

“This has been a distressed property for so long, we want to make sure it’s something the people of Hampton Bays accept,” Councilman Rick Martel underscored.

The town purchased the property, a blighted parcel on Shinnecock Road, in 2019. At the time, Supervisor Jay Schneiderman envisioned selling a shovel-ready holding to a developer who would create luxury condos or a boutique hotel. The town paid $1.06 million for the 1.47 acres, located at the tip of Penny Pond.

Community members sued, looking to nullify the adoption of the Hampton Bays Waterfront Resort Revitalization Plan and the selection of the Bel-Aire Cove Motel property as the first urban renewal area targeted within the plan. The suit was dismissed in court.

Opponents of the hotel scheme preferred razing the dilapidated structure and simply creating a park on the pond. Maria Hults of the Hampton Bays Civic Association said that at the association’s most recent meeting, the topic arose, and “to a member” they all wanted to see a park on the site.

That’s not going to happen, Schneiderman emphasized. He wants to make sure that when a hearing for the two proposals occurs, people focus on them, not the desire for a park.

Focus on the two bids last week brought Carozza to the podium first. Looking to develop the land with senior units, he noted that meeting sanitary requirements “really constrained” the project, until he learned that senior units would offer “the biggest bang for the buck.”

Whatever occurs at the site has to comply with Suffolk County Health Department sanitary flow requirements.

Carozza displayed schematics for 15 units located in three single-story buildings. A new pool and new bulkheading would be part of the deal.

Each 600-square-foot unit would be ADA compliant, with three of the units slated as affordable housing for seniors, while the balance would be offered at market rate, running between $300,000 and $500,000 per unit.

GMRC would manage the property, taking care of the landscaping, pool and other maintenance for the first three years. After that, the homeowners could decide if they wanted the company to continue.

The three buildings would be modular structures; Carozza said they could be completed by this summer.

Originally, town officials spoke of procuring all necessary permits for developers in advance, but that’s now off the table. Schneiderman advised Carozza that, should his project be chosen, the town would do what it could to expedite review, but it would be unlikely that the project could be completed in time for a summer opening.

Chad Gessin of First Dunes was up next. He displayed a site plan for 12 free-standing units, with a diverse size mix. There would be three one-bedroom units of the smallest size, 450 square feet. Seven one-bedroom units would measure up to 700 square feet, and a pair of two-bedroom units would come in at under 1,200 square feet.

Along with the pool, the property would include a gazebo for storage of kayaks and paddleboards, pickleball courts, and a walking path along the pond.

The project would follow the cooperative model — the units would be sold to separate owners, but the overall property would operate as a hotel. A central management company would book units as they are available and be responsible for such hotel amenities as maid service.

Owners don’t rent their units directly and receive a portion of the cost of the rental, with the management company receiving a commission for each unit booked.

Schneiderman, who once ran a management company in Montauk, said such properties are “indistinguishable from a hotel.” Every room has to look the same, he said, and the same standards you find in a hotel are in place. Each unit and the amenities provided are the same, meeting set criteria. Exteriors are all controlled; individual owners can’t change the way units look.

“When you book a room, you never know that each room has a different owner,” he said, pointing out that most of the hotels in Montauk are cooperatively owned. “The Montauk Manor, one of those most famous hotels in Montauk, is a condominium — each unit is owned separately. I used to run that.”

Some of the owners at the Manor never rent their units. “They stay there all the time,” Schneiderman said. But other units, “the owners never use.” They’re income-generating properties.

First Dunes is proposing unit owners be restricted to staying in their units no more than 90 days per year, with the units available to rent the rest of the year.

Gessin emphasized unit prices hadn’t been firmed up yet. Larger units could go for $1 million or under, with smaller units priced between $600,000 and $500,000.

Both developers are expected to pay the town around $1.5 million for the parcel. Any money accrued beyond the town’s purchase price would go toward a blight remediation fund in the hamlet.

Schneiderman wanted to see a property tax comparison between the two. He noted the idea behind the initiative is to keep the property on the tax rolls. The location is ideal for a tourism-related use, he said.

Councilman John Bouvier asked for renderings of the senior housing proposal to be available for community meetings.

Leaders from the Hampton Bays Beautification Association, the Civic Association, the Citizens Advisory Committee and the Chamber of Commerce were asked to provide feedback. Each who spoke made clear they were offering their personal opinions and not speaking on behalf of their organizations, whose members had yet to see the plans.

Susan von Freddie, president of HBBA, Margaret Friedlander from the CAC, and Hults all preferred the second option. They felt it was more aesthetically pleasing. Christine Taylor from the chamber was on hand, but didn’t weigh in.

While Schneiderman wanted to host a public hearing in Hampton Bays, his colleagues outvoted him. They want it held in Town Hall, where the technology to host hybrid meetings — in person and on Zoom — is available.

Officials are looking at a special meeting scheduled either next month or in April.