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An application before the Westhampton Beach Village Planning Board seeks permission to demolish 115 Main Street, a two-story building where Shock is located, to construct a new two-story building in its place.
The property owners, Stephen Matri, Lance Farlow and an unnamed partner, all listed under SKL Realty Holdings LLC, hope to create two retail spaces and a restaurant and bar on the ground floor, and a single apartment and office unit on the second floor. They also would install a new septic system with a retaining wall, according to the application.
The existing building, which housed the former Magic’s Pub, is 2,974 square feet, and the proposed building would be larger, at 3,400 square feet. The proposal would require a variance to install the septic system.
Mr. Matri confirmed that the new building would continue to house Shock, one of the village’s longest-operating retail stores. It has been at 115 Main Street for 10 years and was at other locations along Main Street prior to that.
“It’s a good thing that they have plans to include me in the new building,” said Elyse Richman, the owner of Shock, who also owns Baby Shock and Shock Ice Cream, both located at 99 Main Street.
She said that rebuilding the property is “needed” because of poor structural conditions resulting from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and from the impact of the water table.
According to Ms. Richman, there has been some discussion of temporarily relocating Shock across the street, to a unit in 128 Main Street, which SKL Realty Holdings LLC purchased about two weeks ago from Simon Jorna, the former owner of Beach Bakery Grand Cafe in Westhampton Beach.
The Planning Board may review the application at its meeting on Thursday, July 11, but Mr. Matri said he and his partners may wait until the following meeting, on July 25.
According to the submitted documents, the property owners would like to begin the project in September and complete it by next June, which aligns with the anticipated time frame for the village’s Main Street reconstruction project.
Mr. Matri said on Monday that they are waiting to receive all necessary approvals before seeking the restaurant tenant. Last September, Mr. Farlow told The Press that he had in mind a family-friendly restaurant that served food similar to that at Magic’s Pub, like burgers and chicken tenders. The partners purchased the property in March 2017 for $2.2 million.
For 128 Main Street, Mr. Matri said they have no plans at the moment to make any changes to the two-story building, where the former Books & Books was located and which is now being leased out to boutique shops.
Staff Writer on Jul 9, 2019