Village Board OKs Hotel Site Plan

The Village of Farmingdale have approved the site plan of a that will be located on the corner of Secatogue Ave. and S. Front St.

Even though the hotel is the undertaking of a private developer, the approval sets the tone for other village revitalization plans the board has.

The site plan was first brought to the board in late 2010. Since then, a land swap agreement was negotiated between the developer, Anthony Bartone, and the village, which allowed the village .

"Because the whole train station area is devoid of any green space at all, this is a real advantage to have this public space," said Village of Farmingdale Mayor George Starkie.

Bartone said the approval process took longer than anticipated, but that the land swap was ultimately worthwhile.

"It was a good thing," he said. "We are behind schedule, but in the end it made for a better project."

The hotel will be an 85-room "limited-service model" of the Hilton brand, meaning there will not be a restaurant or bar in the hotel, and that it will be primarily geared for business travelers. Bartone says the hotel will bring more than 80 jobs to the area and that they expect it to boost the local economy, specificially the restaurants on Main Street.

Groundbreaking will not happen until 2012, since additional structural drawings and building permits are needed, Bartone said. After construction begins he estimates it will take nine months to build.

Site plan approval could not yet be granted in May until the latest Zoning Board decision, a final sealed appraisal, a drainage plan signed by the Village engineer and final versions of the drawings were submitted as a full package.

Hotels are already a permitted use in the village code, so the trustees were not voting on the use of the property as a hotel, but on the specific site plan details. The Village of Farmingdale was once home to six hotels.