Business

Hotel plans begin to take shape on Main Road in Mattituck

Two and a half years after first proposing a hotel at the site of the former North Fork Bank headquarters on Main Road in Mattituck, the property owner has submitted a new site plan for the project that includes a resort-style pool, catering hall and helicopter landing area at the site, town records show.

Cardinal Management, which has owned the property for nearly 40 years, is looking to build a 125-room hotel on two levels with a 300-seat restaurant, according to the plans filed with Southold Town on Sept. 4.

Attorney Bill Goggins of Mattituck, who represents property owner Alan Cardinale Jr., said the latest plan is a scaled back version of what was initially proposed in February 2018, cutting down the number of rooms from 200. The lobby area has also been reduced to 2,500 square feet.

As for the helicopter landing spot, which the plans show fronting Main Road, Mr. Goggins believes that was wishful thinking on the part of the architect. Town code does not permit helicopter landing pads.

“There is no intent to put a helicopter pad there,” he said, acknowledging that aircraft noise has been a significant issue for some town residents in recent years.

Mr. Goggins said the proposed hotel addresses a significant need in the area, noting a lack of similar facilities between Riverhead and Greenport.

“Considering all the complaints about people renting their house for a week or a weekend, a hotel will fix a lot of those problems,” Mr. Goggins said.

An artists rendering of the view looking south from behind the proposed hotel.

The proposal calls for 78 standard guest rooms, 39 suites with a kitchen and eight junior suites on two floors and three buildings. While a parking lot would surround the buildings,  subterranean parking is also proposed beneath some of the guest rooms, according to the application.

The proposal is still in the early stages and would need to make its way to Southold Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board for approvals. It would not require a change of zone for the property, which is located on the north side of Main Road, west of Factory Avenue.

Southold Supervisor Scott Russell declined to comment on the specific proposal, since it will be before both the ZBA and Planning Board.

“Commercial development is a balancing act — to encourage investment in our commercial areas and reap the benefits such as job creation, etc., but in a way that either improves or is consistent with the character of the surrounding area,” he said.

Mr. Cardinale, who runs Cardinal Management in Mattituck, which owns both  Mattituck Plaza and Jamesport Center, did not return a telephone message seeking comment this week. His family purchased the property, then a supermarket, for $175,000 in foreclosure in 1982. It was sold to North Fork Bancorp for $975,000 two years later, according to town property records. The building served as North Fork Bank headquarters until Capital One purchased the bank and the building in 2006.

Capital One announced it would close the headquarters in 2011 and the building, which has been mostly vacant since 2012, was sold back to the Cardinales.