1 Photo
Electric car giant, Tesla, is looking to open a dealership in the old Pier I Imports location in Southampton. DANA SHAW
Tesla, the multinational electric vehicle company, is coming to Southampton Town — Water Mill, to be specific. Named for inventor Nicola Tesla, the company helmed by famed CEO Elon Musk, is looking to open a car dealership in the building that once housed Pier I Imports near the terminus of County Road 39.
The Southampton Town Planning Board is reviewing a site plan special exception application for the dealership poised to offer luxury electric cars whose price tags can top six figures. The applicant — Long Island Resource Corporation — is looking to convert the 19,242-square-foot building on a 2.98-acre property located at 54 Montauk Highway into a car dealership and showroom for, according to their representative, local attorney John Bennett, mostly online sales.
No expansion of the existing structure is requested, though some tweaks to the design are proposed. The designers haven’t changed the iconic arch of the existing building, “which is nice,” Planning Board Chairwoman Jacqui Lofaro commented during the plan’s preliminary review last month.
Predominantly a showroom for online sales, the building will also accommodate a service area and a “zero discharge” car wash. Bennett said his client is working with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services to pursue any required permits. Many local dealerships have car washes. Land Rover includes a card that says “We hope you appreciate our royal bath,” Bennett informed. “That’s the car wash. Don’t you appreciate marketing?” The site will also play host to electric vehicle charging stations, but only for Tesla cars. Under the law, the town can’t require the dealership to install universal charging stations.
While Tesla manufactures solar accoutrement, the shape of the Water Mill building’s roofline makes the use of solar panels unfeasible.
Tesla also manufactures batteries for cars and home power storage. It was unclear whether that will be part of the dealership. Batteries for the cars will be stored for short periods of time. More information will be forthcoming as the review continues.
Tesla’s signature red will be used as an architectural detail. A rendering presented during the board’s December 8 discussion showed a red sign that seemed close to the road. Bennett said that if his clients want to keep the sign closer to the road than current regulations allow, they’d seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Street trees are proposed and screening from the parking lot was requested by planning staff. There’s an “active” bay for service proposed on one side of the building with a bay for display on the other.
Bennett emphasized that he was asking for a dealership for online sales, but doesn’t want to be limited to just those should a business model change. It was agreed designating the use as “motor vehicle dealer” would allow for a potential change without the need for additional review.
The site has undergone a variety of disparate uses since 1960s, when it was home to Starlanes Bowling Alley, according to town historian Julie Greene. There was a skating rink and, in 1964, an Arnold Palmer Golf Putting Course. From 1968 through 1990, the property played host to a series of nightclubs, including the Alley Discotheque.
Around 1991, the building’s use changed, becoming half disco and half dedicated to Pier 1 Imports. Several years later, there was a proposal to use half the building for a Genovese Drug Store, but that never came to fruition, Greene said. By 2001, Pier 1 was occupying the entire building. The store closed in 2019, and the building has most recently been occupied by Collette Home Pop Up.
