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A newly renovated mixed-use building at 56 West Main Street is coming online soon in Bay Shore, featuring a 2,500-square-foot retail unit on the ground floor and five luxury apartments upstairs.
Located across from Salt & Barrel and west of the intersection with South Park Avenue, Michael A. Maffettone, principal of Shoreline Property Group, the building owner, says the apartments will be completed this winter.
In the meanwhile, he’s shooting for a restaurant to occupy the entirety of the retail space on the first floor.
Maffettone — who also owns Michael Anthony Design Build, the construction company that did the renovation — said he’s done extensive work to prepare the site. He purchased the property a few years ago and said that the original owner hadn’t done any work to the building. The ground floor was originally two units, shared by a doctor’s office and a retail shop, but after removing non-load-bearing walls and other construction work, it is now one large space.
He estimated that there hadn’t been any significant work done to the building in over 25 years and bought it in what he described as a “distressed” state.
Maffettone had a vision, not just for this site but for the downtown.
“Ten years ago in Bay Shore, you could drive or walk down Main Street and not pay attention to anything,” he told GreaterBayShore in a phone interview. “There were so many run-down buildings.”
But, he knew Bay Shore had potential and decided to invest in the area.
Over the years he has completed a number of projects in the village and he currently has five other apartment buildings in Bay Shore currently being worked on and two more waiting for permits. Those two apartment buildings will contain 12 units each. Make sure to check back later at GreaterBayShore to learn more about those projects.
“It was only a matter of time before it turned itself around,” he said of Bay Shore, citing the location near the water and access to Fire Island by the ferry being prime examples of the hamlet’s appeal.
The property at 56 West Main is his only building that is mixed-use in Bay Shore.
He also has projects in Babylon, Islip and Blue Point.
The five apartments are split between three 1-bedroom units and two studios. All are newly renovated with 14-foot ceilings. The 1-bedrooms are approximately 650 square feet and will rent anywhere from $2,200 to $2,500 per month. The studios are 300 square feet and set to rent at around $1,500 per month. Units have their own laundry room, dishwashers, air conditioning, and one full bath. The walls are soundproofed and there will be hurricane glass in all of the windows.
“They are very, very nice,” Maffettone said.
The units will be marketed toward young professionals. Generally, he thinks that people under the age of 40-years-old who are single or a couple with no kids would be the type of tenants who would be interested in his apartments.
Maffettone said there is a waiting list for the apartments and should be completely leased up in December when they are ready for occupancy.
As a developer, Maffettone is a smaller fish in the game but that’s how he likes it.
“There are many large property owners in Bay Shore and they’ve been putting money into the area for years and they’ve done quite well,” he said. “I just started picking up some of the crumbs. My twist is I like a boutique. I like smaller. My biggest building has 13 tenants.”
He says the size of his projects allows him to diversify, making him nimble in an economic downturn, and are easier to manage.
Opportunity in Bay Shore caught his eye ever since he was young, coming to the downtown for its nightlife and eateries.
“It’s always been a town that has an attraction to every demographic,” he said. “There are a number of different attractions to Bay Shore, the ferry, the bars, and restaurants.”
Maffettone says he’s also here for the long term.
“Once it becomes fully revitalized I never see it taking a downturn,” he said.
Top: View of the new mixed-use building in the works on West Main Street (credit: Nicholas Esposito).
