Developers of luxury condo complex seek approval to add second story to eight units

The developers of a 124-unit luxury condo complex in Cutchogue are seeking Planning Board approval to add a second story to eight units in their latest phase of construction.

According to town planning documents, the developers of Harvest Pointe seek to change the floor plans to add second floor living space in eight new units.

The change would bring the square footage for each unit from 1,599 to 1,999 square feet, according to the application.

“There’s been a demand,” said Robert Morrow of Kenilworth Equities, a partner in the project. “People want to have an extra bedroom when their grandchildren come or somebody comes to visit.”

Mr. Morrow and project manager Henry Alia have remarked during several recent meetings that demand for units in the 55-and-over complex, located near the intersection of School House Lane and Griffing Street, has surged amid the pandemic.

According to town planner Brian Cummings, one of about 50 conditions in the approval requires the applicants to seek amendments for increases greater than 125 square feet and establishes the maximum livable floor area in any unit at 1,999 square feet.

In this case, the applicants are seeking to add approximately 400 square feet in each of the eight units for a total of 3,200 square feet.

According to Mr. Alia, site infrastructure would remain unchanged and four models already exist in the first section of the development. “This is a model that we’ve already used and has been approved,” he said.

Though a public hearing will be held, Planning Board member James Rich III outlined his concerns during a work session Monday. “How many more times is this going to happen, that we’re going to be asked for an increase in square footage?” he asked, arguing that the applicants have changed floor plans several times in the past. 

Before the board makes a decision, Mr. Rich asked to see a breakdown of how the floor plans have changed.

Mr. Morrow said they already have support in the form of county health department approval. “The health department is always an issue when it comes to bedrooms or bathrooms and they’ve signed off on these eight additional units that we do have enough flow on the property to meet the requirements,” he said, adding that they do not intend to return before the board to seek any further amendments.

A public hearing on the amendment will be held Monday, Feb. 8.

Hearings were also set for Feb. 8 on an application to convert an existing 770-square-foot apartment to an office on Route 25 in Mattituck and a separate application to construct a 4,500-square-foot building consisting of four retail units on vacant property along Pike Street in Mattituck.