From 18 houses to none: Suffolk finalizing deal to save Fort Salonga land as open space

The owners of a historic Owl Hill property in Fort Salonga and Suffolk officials said they're finalizing a deal for the county to buy the land, which would eliminate plans for what would have been one of the largest residential subdivisions to be built in the Town of Smithtown in recent years. 

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said in a statement Monday his administration “is committed to preserving open space across the entire county, and this purchase represents an important acquisition for the west end of Suffolk.” 

Property owner Owl Hill Estates and Preserve LLC has agreed to a $8.2 million purchase price, according to the company and Suffolk officials.

Some nearby residents had opposed construction at Owl Hill, near the intersection of Fort Salonga and Sunken Meadow roads, citing objections to the previous plan to build 18 homes and to the size of the subdivision's lots.

In February, the Smithtown Planning Board voted 4-0 to grant the developer approval for the final site plan to subdivide the 27.6-acre property into 18 lots — the last major approval needed before construction could have started.

The deal with the county will include all the land and the mansion on the property, according to Richard Rauff, a principal of Owl Hill Estates and Preserve LLC. The company bought the site in 2020 for $6.2 million.

The mansion on the property was built in 1903 as a home for New York City attorney Edmund Wetmore, Newsday previously reported. The home later was owned by the family of Michael Yardney, who invented a catapult device for planes during World War II.

Suffolk Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said in an interview that preserving the Owl Hill property for its open space and history would be “good for the entire Smithtown community.” 

In 2022, Trotta sponsored a bill to order an appraisal of the site so the county potentially could buy and preserve it, but the developer didn't find any offers made for the property acceptable.

Trotta said in a February interview the county previously offered the developer $6 million for the property, but the offer was rejected. Rauff said the company wanted to sell the property for a price that reflected its value.

“We know that by not developing it, we were leaving a lot of money on the table, but we were willing to do it as long as we thought we were getting fair value. And this latest offer, we thought, was palatable,” Rauff added.

Both Trotta and Rauff expressed confidence the sale would be finalized, with Trotta saying such transactions usually take six months to a year. 

The mansion, Trotta said, could be used by a nonprofit entity that would help maintain the home.

Fort Salonga Association president Keith Macartney applauded the deal in the works for the property after the civic group advocated for years for its preservation as open space.

“Most definitely,” he said of whether those efforts paid off.