Planned Northport Village Inn Hits Snag

A rendering depicts the hotel planned for Main Street in Northport Village.

By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Inclimate weather and a review process with Northport Village government have pushed back the timeline for construction on a planned Main Street inn, said Kevin O’Neill, co-owner of John W. Engeman Theater, who is planning to open the inn with fellow co-owner Richard Dolce.

The business partners want to build the three-story inn at 225 Main Street.

The multimillion-dollar inn would span around 22,000 square feet and include a 200-seat restaurant on its ground floor.

The above floors would include 22-24 rooms and some office space for management.

Plans were approved by Northport Village’s board of trustees in August 2017, but O’Neill said there is a hold up. The village architectural review board is considering a resolution on whether or not the building that currently stands on the property requires historical review.

“I gave a tour to the architectural review board for them to see what’s left of the old house, which… was obliterated back in the 1950s,” O’Neil said. “The remnants of what you see up top is one thing, but the whole thing was cut off at the waist down below.”

A public hearing was held Feb. 13 that discussed the tour and yielded testimony from historical architect Zachary Studenroth.

A vote on the potential historical review was pushed back to March 21 due to a snowstorm.

Once the matter before the architectural review board is settled, O’Neill said plans can advance, first with asbestos abatement and then by disconnecting utilities.

Once that’s done, O’Neil said, the village building department must approve a demolition permit.

O’Neill said he’s still targeting the offseason to start construction.

“My hope was to do the construction during the offseason as much as possible so that it’s not invasive to everyday life on Main Street because it’s a big project,” he said.

Huntington-based Hoffman Grayson Architects will lead the work on the project.

In addition to the inn, the village board also approved a residential to commercial zone change for the parking lot behind the site along Woodside Avenue.