Enclaves project granted one-year approval extension

The Southold Town Planning Board granted a one-year extension of approval for the $43.9 million Enclaves Hotel project in downtown Southold at its July 14 regular meeting. The extension is comprised of two six-month extensions, starting July 15.

An initial conditional extension will run until Jan. 15, 2026, which would then automatically extend for an additional six months through July 15, 2026.

The long-discussed Enclaves hotel proposal consists of a 62,338-square-foot, 44-unit, two-story hotel, including four detached cottages, a full basement, an accessory event space and personal services spaces, an outdoor swimming pool and 160 parking spaces. It also includes the conversion of a two-story dwelling into a 74-seat restaurant. The hotel and restaurant will be located on a 6.75-acre parcel in the Hamlet Business zoning district on Main Road in Southold, the former site of Hedges, a bed and breakfast.

The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency granted the project a $2.7 million tax-break incentive package in September 2023, about three months after the town planning board conditionally approved the Enclaves project. Included in the package were mortgage and sales tax abatements, plus a 15-year schedule of payments in place of taxes. The IDA heard substantial opposition from community members at a Town Hall discussion that December in regard to the incentives. The package was approved in January 2024. 

In the years since it was initially presented in 2017, Southold residents have repeatedly voiced their concerns about the project’s potential for increased traffic, noise and environmental impacts. The developer’s counter-argument was that it would help fulfill market demand for housing on the North Fork.

The Southold Town Board unanimously approved a waiver from its recently extended hotel development moratorium at its July 8 regular meeting for the owners of the former Capital One building, at 9025 Main Road in Mattituck. As part of the decision, Councilman Greg Doroski said at the time that the owners’ pledge to not seek IDA relief was “really significant for the community.”