Long-stalled $43.9M Enclaves Hotel project in Southold gets another extension
The long-delayed Enclaves Hotel project in Southold was granted its latest six-month approval extension by the Southold Town Planning Board at its regular meeting Monday, Jan. 12 — pushing the approval deadline on the nearly decade-old project to mid-July.
Developer Jonathan Tibbett requested the Enclaves Hotel extension, which was unanimously approved by the five-member board.
The $43.9 million Enclaves hotel proposal consists of a 62,338-square-foot, 44-unit, two-story hotel with four detached cottages and a full basement. The project also includes an accessory event space and personal services spaces, an outdoor swimming pool and 160 parking spaces.
Additonally, the plans call for converting a two-story dwelling into a 74-seat, 3,610-square-foot 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 Enclaves Hotel plans were originally prepared in August 2016 and were last updated in February 2023, according to Planning Board chairman James Rich.
The project has faced numerous delays since Mr. Tibbett first presented his plans to the town in 2017. The Planning Board conditionally approved the Enclaves project in June 2023, and the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) granted it a $2.7 million tax-break incentive package three months later. Included in the package were mortgage and sales tax abatements, plus a 15-year schedule of payments in lieu of taxes.
The IDA heard substantial opposition from community members at a Town Hall discussion that December with regard to the incentives. The package was approved in January 2024.
Throughout the years since it was initially presented, Southold residents have repeatedly voiced their concerns about the Enclaves project’s potential for increased traffic, noise and environmental impacts. Mr. Tibbett has argued the hotel would help fulfill market demand for lodging on the North Fork.
Construction for the hotel has been projected to take between 18 and 24 months, according to the developer.
