Patchogue to vote on new plan for Hilton's upscale Tempo brand at site of shuttered bowling alley
A rendering of the revised plan for Tempo Hotel on West Avenue in Patchogue, which features a five-story building with 96 hotel rooms and 13 rental apartments. Credit: JM2 Architecture/Tom Guarino
The Patchogue Village Board plans to vote Tuesday on a zoning change for a proposed luxury hotel at the site of a shuttered bowling alley.
The board will vote on revised plans for a 109-room hotel-apartment complex that representatives of developer West Avenue Partners said were scaled down after a previous proposal was criticized by residents and village officials at a May public hearing.
The new proposal, unveiled at an Oct. 28 public hearing, features a five-story facility with 96 hotel rooms and 13 rental apartments on West Avenue. The original plan proposed a six-story building with 116 hotel rooms and 16 apartments.
The $40 million, Hilton-backed Tempo hotel would be the South Shore village's only hotel if constructed.
Supporters, including Mayor Paul Pontieri, said it would be a crucial step in Patchogue's ongoing revitalization.
“We’ve been talking about getting a hotel for the last 20 years,” Pontieri said in an interview, adding Tempo's location — near the Patchogue Long Island Rail Road station, the Watch Hill ferry and Fire Island National Seashore offices — would boost tourism in the village.
“You couldn’t ask for a better triangulation of pieces to make it successful,” he said.
West Avenue Partners is seeking a zoning change that would allow construction of the hotel at the former bowling alley site, which is zoned for industrial uses.
Larry Davis, a Patchogue lawyer for the developer, said the hotel would be part of Hilton's upscale Tempo brand and would be operated by Atlanta-based Valor Hospitality, which runs tourism facilities in 68 cities worldwide. The hotel would employ 75 workers and construction would create 200 jobs, Davis said.
Tempo's website shows the brand features amenities such as fitness and wellness centers with circuit training facilities, hydration stations and exercise bikes.
A dozen people spoke at the Oct. 28 hearing, most of them in support of the project.
Joel Furman, a Patchogue lawyer and real estate broker, called the hotel "the missing piece of the pie" in Patchogue's two-decade-long revitalization, which has seen the addition of hundreds of new apartments, pubs, shops and restaurants.
The project also received support from the Long Island Builders Institute, a construction trade group, and Ronkonkoma developer Tritec Real Estate, which built Patchogue's $100 million New Village apartment and retail complex in 2014.
Critics said they feared the hotel would cause excessive traffic and parking shortages.
“I can’t think of anyone who I’ve talked to who wants a hotel in this area,” Neil Starkman, of Patchogue, said. “It does not belong in this area right at the mouth of a residential area. It’s trouble for that community.”
The hotel would have 119 parking stalls — 18 more than required under village law, said the project's architect, James Manicone, of Farmingville.
Adrienne Esposito, a Patchogue resident and executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale, said the developer should be asked not to use potentially toxic fertilizer “that will wash right into the river.” She also suggested using permeable pavement to help direct stormwater into drains.
Village officials said the developer will be required to seek approval of a stormwater protection plan before construction can begin.
The Patchogue Village Board plans to vote Tuesday on a zoning change for a proposed luxury hotel at the site of a shuttered bowling alley.
The board will vote on revised plans for a 109-room hotel-apartment complex that representatives of developer West Avenue Partners said were scaled down after a previous proposal was criticized by residents and village officials at a May public hearing.
The new proposal, unveiled at an Oct. 28 public hearing, features a five-story facility with 96 hotel rooms and 13 rental apartments on West Avenue. The original plan proposed a six-story building with 116 hotel rooms and 16 apartments.
The $40 million, Hilton-backed Tempo hotel would be the South Shore village's only hotel if constructed.
Supporters, including Mayor Paul Pontieri, said it would be a crucial step in Patchogue's ongoing revitalization.
“We’ve been talking about getting a hotel for the last 20 years,” Pontieri said in an interview, adding Tempo's location — near the Patchogue Long Island Rail Road station, the Watch Hill ferry and Fire Island National Seashore offices — would boost tourism in the village.
“You couldn’t ask for a better triangulation of pieces to make it successful,” he said.
West Avenue Partners is seeking a zoning change that would allow construction of the hotel at the former bowling alley site, which is zoned for industrial uses.
Larry Davis, a Patchogue lawyer for the developer, said the hotel would be part of Hilton's upscale Tempo brand and would be operated by Atlanta-based Valor Hospitality, which runs tourism facilities in 68 cities worldwide. The hotel would employ 75 workers and construction would create 200 jobs, Davis said.
Tempo's website shows the brand features amenities such as fitness and wellness centers with circuit training facilities, hydration stations and exercise bikes.
A dozen people spoke at the Oct. 28 hearing, most of them in support of the project.
Joel Furman, a Patchogue lawyer and real estate broker, called the hotel "the missing piece of the pie" in Patchogue's two-decade-long revitalization, which has seen the addition of hundreds of new apartments, pubs, shops and restaurants.
The project also received support from the Long Island Builders Institute, a construction trade group, and Ronkonkoma developer Tritec Real Estate, which built Patchogue's $100 million New Village apartment and retail complex in 2014.
Critics said they feared the hotel would cause excessive traffic and parking shortages.
“I can’t think of anyone who I’ve talked to who wants a hotel in this area,” Neil Starkman, of Patchogue, said. “It does not belong in this area right at the mouth of a residential area. It’s trouble for that community.”
The hotel would have 119 parking stalls — 18 more than required under village law, said the project's architect, James Manicone, of Farmingville.
Adrienne Esposito, a Patchogue resident and executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale, said the developer should be asked not to use potentially toxic fertilizer “that will wash right into the river.” She also suggested using permeable pavement to help direct stormwater into drains.
Village officials said the developer will be required to seek approval of a stormwater protection plan before construction can begin.
Proposed downtown hotel
- The Patchogue Village Board plans to vote Tuesday on a zoning change requested by developer West Avenue Partners for a $40 million, 109-room hotel and apartment complex.
- The Hilton-backed Tempo hotel would be the village's only hotel.
- Critics of the plan raised concerns about traffic and the hotel's environmental impact.
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.
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'Ridiculous tickets that are illogical' A Newsday investigation shows that about 70% of tickets issued by Suffolk County for school bus camera violations in 2023 took place on roads that students don't cross. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.