EXCLUSIVE: Hilton Hotel is headed for the Patchogue Riverfront

After years of work to attract a hotel proposition for the Village of Patchogue, mayor Paul Pontieri officially confirmed Hilton Hotels will be submitting a proposal before the village planning board during a special hearing scheduled for Feb. 6.

“It’s a Hilton!” said Pontieri ecstatic to announce after years of anticipation and planning to attract a major hotel brand.

According to the application, West Avenue Partners, LLC. is seeking permission to construct the Tempo by Hilton at 138 West Avenue, the former site of the old Bowl Long Island bowling alley, which closed in 2020 during the pandemic, and later shuttered permanently after suffering from a roof collapse.

The project now requires a referral to the Board of Trustees for a Zoning change to the Hotel Zone from the current E Industrial Zone.

The new “floating district,” according to Pontieri, has made way for this zone change at this site, among others.

“This still needs to go through all the proper channels,” Pontieri explained of the proposal.

There is currently no major hotel located south of Sunrise Highway in Suffolk County. Patchogue Village, he said, intends to be the first.

Developer Allon Avgi, JM2 Architecture, and Hilton Hotels could not yet be reached for comment.

The 116-room six-story hotel project also includes several residential apartments and at-grade retail, as part of the new floating zone requirements. The project also includes meeting and event spaces, a rooftop bar and restaurant as well as a gym and outdoor seating.

ABOUT THE FLOATING ZONE

During the Jan. 8 board of trustees meeting, they voted unanimously to approve the Hotel Zoning District, following a review by the Suffolk County Planning Commission.
The Village of Patchogue board of trustees originally held a public hearing to add a section to the code to create a Hotel Zoning District on Monday, Dec. 11.

At that point, the board then closed the public hearing and deferred the code change to the Suffolk County Planning Commission for review as required by law.

The new zoning is based on specific parameters, including a minimum acreage of parcels, and will only fit certain parcels for hotel consideration.

The new district can only include sites with a minimum of two acres, include all property owners on-site, and be located within 1,000 feet from any of the three sites: the Patchogue railroad station, the DRD district (the downtown Tritec development), and the Patchogue Theatre for Performing Arts.