Business

Top Stories 2015: Development proposals in Mattituck

sportseast

A proposal for a mixed-use development featuring retail space and affordable apartments in Mattituck came and went this year. But weeks after that proposal was abandoned, a team of investors — including local developer Paul Pawlowski, the lead on the apartments project — have pitched a new idea for Main Road: a state-of-the-art private sports club.

The latest development was pitched by newly formed company Sports East LLC in December. If would feature an indoor pool, a multi-sport synthetic turf field, indoor running track, yoga platforms and batting cages.

The proposals investors, Mr. Pawlowski, Steve Marsh and Joe Slovak, hope to also offer programs for local schoolchildren at the private sports complex.

Unlike previous proposals for the site, Mr. Pawlowski believes he and his partners won’t need a change of zoning in order to build. They are, however, currently seeking a special exception from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Mr. Pawlowski’s last project — which called for turning 3.8 acres of land into 14,000 sq. feet of commercial space and creating 12 second-floor apartments at affordable prices — drew sharp criticism from neighbors, who worried the development would affect their quality of life and the feel of Mattituck hamlet. Some called it an “assault upon Mattituck” while others were concerned the town administration was too willing to cocede to local developers.

Mr. Pawlowski eventually pulled the plug on the idea after critics flooded a pair of public hearings. One of the loudest voices in the movement against the proposal was the newly formed Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association. A poll of that organization showed 102 members opposed the project, while just nine supported it, according to president Mary Eisenstein.

Ms. Eisenstein praised the outcry against the project as “a testament to the community of Mattituck.” The group has not weighed in on the latest sports complex proposal for the site.

In the meantime, Mr. Pawlowski purchased the long-vacant Hudson City Savings Bank on Main Road, and hopes to add a building on that parcel which would contain apartments.