Rechlers Say Southampton Town Board Supports Plan For Canoe Place Inn

The developers who own the Canoe Place Inn property in Hampton Bays said on Friday that they believe they have the “general support” of the Southampton Town Board to move forward with a plan to preserve the inn, rather than demolishing it, in exchange for securing permission to build 40 townhouses on a separate parcel they also own on the eastern side of the Shinnecock Canal—but declined to say how they came to that conclusion.

Town Board members have declined to discuss the project, and several did not return calls this week.

Gregg Rechler, a partner in the Melville-based company R Squared LLC with his cousin Mitchell, said the Town Board supports his company’s decision to put forward a formal application for a planned development district, or PDD, a special zoning designation that would allow the Rechlers to construct the townhouses, which are not permitted on the site under current zoning.

Mr. Rechler said he has been communicating with members of the Town Board about the next steps for the project, although he declined to identify those members.

Messages left at Town Hall for board members Nancy Graboski, Jim Malone and Bridget Fleming were not returned. When reached for comment, Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi referred all questions about the Canoe Place Inn to Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst.

Ms. Throne-Holst said in an e-mail that the board is encouraging the Rechlers to submit a formal application to the board for the PDD, but stopped short of characterizing the board as being in support of the plan.

“We have indicated to the Rechlers that we, at this point, encourage a formal application, so we can begin the deliberation and public hearing process,” Ms. Throne-Holst said in an e-mail. “Without the application and the public hearing process, we can’t begin the deliberations in earnest.”

She did not respond to follow-up calls or e-mails.

If the Town Board formally approves the PDD, the townhouses would be constructed where the restaurants 1 North Steakhouse and Tide Runners presently stand, on property currently zoned Resort Waterfront Business District. The Rechlers already own the land. In return for the PDD approval, the Rechlers have agreed to preserve the interior and exterior of the inn and transform it into a catering hall, as well as to provide a public walkway on the east side of the Shinnecock Canal.

The application would mark the end of months of negotiations between the Town Board and the Rechlers over the preservation of the historic Canoe Place Inn, which the Rechlers have threatened to demolish. The inn is not a landmark and can be legally razed by the cousins.

In order for the Rechlers to move forward with their plan, the developers would have to withdraw the current application, which calls for the demolition of the Canoe Place Inn and the construction of 75 timeshares in its place, and submit a formal application outlining the new proposal.

Ms. Throne-Holst cautioned that the PDD proposal could ultimately be changed from the plan that the Rechlers have been shopping around to community members and civic groups over the past few months.

Gregg Rechler indicated that it was too early to tell what changes, if any, would be made to the proposal before it is formally submitted to the Town Board, in order to gain the board’s support.

“We want to try and work out technically, how do we get into a position where we can move forward with an application that would allow us to build the residential properties on the canal side of the property,” he said.