Nearby: Mega Islip Pines Project Gets a Design Redo

This story was posted by Michael Sorrentino. It was written by Judy Mottl.

While the Islip Town Board approved an environmental impact statement Tuesday regarding the proposed mega 136-acre Islip Pines project along Sunrise Highway, at the intersection of Veterans Highway in Holbrook, the mixed-use land development is far from a done deal.     

The EIS is a technical step of the State Environmental Quality Review Act process, Islip Town Planning Commissioner Dave Genaway told Patch in an interview Thursday.     

“This isn’t formal approval, there is some work to do before we take this before the town board for any approval. We also need to have the county planning commission review it and they will likely hold a public hearing,” said Genaway.     

It’s been over a year since Islip officials held a public hearing on the Serota Properties project, and much of the project has changed, according to Genaway.    

The revamp is in response to civic and local chamber concerns regarding impact on traffic, the small downtown business areas and the Sachem school district.     

“They [Serota] redesigned essentially from scratch,” said Genaway, who noted the original plans did not boast an integrated land use design and was very “disconnected.”     

“This is a much better arrangement and better flow of the various land uses,” he added. 

Original plans called for 400,000 square feet of retail space, 1.3 million square feet of industrial space on 70 acres, which would include a 200-room hotel, and 250 residential one and two-bedroom apartments on 13 acres. 

The revamp includes a huge boost in open space mostly due to structured garage parking instead of acres of paved lots. There will be a central mall structure with open grass, a decorative pond and a band shell for community events.   

“The original design had a four and half acre park area. Now there are 35 acres of open space that can house 12 active ball fields. It is really improved,” said Genaway. 

“They [the developers] really went back to the drawing board.”   

Going back to the drawing board is exactly what one town board member requested during the public hearing last March. 

At the time, as Patch reported,  Town Councilwoman Trish Bergin Weichbrodt made that exact statement. 

“Would you consider clearing the slate, starting all over again?” Weichbrodt asked Robert Yuricic, an architect working for Serota. 

“We would certainly look at other options,” Yuricic had replied, adding that Serota would like to maintain the current proposed percentages of residential/retail space. “Certainly the layout and location can be discussed and investigated.”   

Genaway noted though that while the revamp addresses many concepts that caused concern, the retail use is still not likely to sit well with local chamber groups as Serota Properties only reduced retail land use by 80,000 square feet.   

According to Genaway, a market analysis study of the project conducted last year resulted in three top recommendations: reduce the proposed industrial space given the economic viability of finding companies to lease the space, reduce the retail use and increase the residential use.   

The plan originally called for 250 one-to two-bedroom units for senior citizen housing. It now includes 350 units.   

Local chamber leaders and civic groups reached by Patch declined comment on the revamp of the project, stating they had not yet seen the new land use design proposal.