Patchogue Village's transformation could include hotel, Hilton's upscale Tempo brand

Patchogue officials hope to cap the village's decadeslong downtown transformation with the addition of a 116-room hotel on the site of a shuttered bowling alley, Mayor Paul Pontieri said.

The village's first hotel, which would bear the name of the Hilton hotel chain's new upscale Tempo brand, would boost Patchogue's efforts to make itself a tourism hub — making it easier for visitors to get to Fire Island and the Hamptons, village officials said. 

It also would have 16 one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments for year-round residency, a rooftop bar and restaurant open to the public, and meeting spaces, officials said.

“We’re ready for a hotel. Our downtown is successful enough. The theater is successful enough,” Pontieri said, referring to the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on East Main Street. The hotel would be located on West Street, walking distance from Patchogue's Long Island Rail Road station and the Davis Park-Watch Hill ferry terminal.

Pontieri said the five-story hotel's upper floors would have a "million-dollar view" of the Great South Bay and Fire Island. 

“You can go out the back door of the hotel and walk into the ferry,” he said.

At least three Patchogue hotel proposals since 2011 collapsed for a variety of reasons, including lack of public support and poor market conditions, officials have said.

Village officials are crafting a new zoning code for hotels, Pontieri said, adding that the Tempo proposal would be reviewed during a public meeting on Feb. 6. He said he hopes the hotel receives all approvals and permits by September.

Pontieri said he thinks residents will support the new hotel, adding that public sentiment about development has changed over the past decade.

Allon Avgi, the project's Merrick-based developer, said Wednesday he hopes to open the hotel by the end of 2026.

“I know it’s long overdue,” Avgi said. “I spent most of my childhood going in and out of the village, so I know it’s been in demand for a long time.”

Hilton did not respond to requests for comment. 

Hilton's first Tempo hotel opened last year in Times Square. The brand has added locations in Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Tempo is aimed at affluent customers and features amenities such as in-room exercise bikes, according to the chain's website.

The hotel would complete a revitalization effort that began about two decades ago.

At that time, Patchogue had become a virtual ghost town of vacant storefronts and struggling businesses.

Since then, the village has been revamped with the addition of pubs, boutiques and more than a dozen restaurants, and new housing complexes such as River Walk, Copper Beech and Artspace have added hundreds of new residents.

But Patchogue lacked a hotel, hurting efforts to attract tourists, said David Kennedy, executive director of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce. The nearest hotels are more than three miles away in Holtsville and Farmingville.

“In my 10 years here, I'm sure there’ve been over 100 phone calls saying, ‘I’m coming to Patchogue, where can I stay?’" Kennedy said. "I’m always sending them to hotels outside of the area.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.