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A Middle Island apartment complex proposal received conditional approval Monday after 15 years in the works.
The Scalamander Cove apartment project will plant 96 one- and two-bedroom apartments at the intersection of Rocky Point and Middle Country roads.
There are two abandoned single-story structures currently on the lot, which will be demolished to make way for eight new buildings. Two three-story buildings will be constructed in the center of the lot, and three two-story buildings will take root along both roads.
As for amenities, the project will feature a recreational building, as well as a pool, according to the Town of Brookhaven’s public hearing announcement.
A sewer line extension will be constructed from the Scalamander Cove property and connected to the sewer treatment plant at Concern Housing’s Renaissance Village, a 123-unit affordable housing complex across Rocky Point Road.
Over the course of 15 years, the proposed development has gone through many changes.
“We bought it 15 years ago and we were going to build condominiums, but then the market fell apart,” real estate lawyer Samuel Glass, the project’s developer, said. “And then the town asked us to buy some more land, so instead of 66 units, we would have 96 units.”
As for the unusual name “Scalamander,” Glass said it was a years-old clerical error – an accidential “c” added to “salamander” – that he decided to stand by. At least for now.
“We may change the name,” he said.
Further approvals must be met before building permits can be issued and construction begins.
“I would imagine it would be about a year, year-and-a-half from now that we can start construction,” Glass said. “It’s going to be a beautiful project.”
Top: Scalamander Cove three-story building by NY Architectural Renderings, dated Oct. 5, 2018.
