New Developer For Planned Huntington Hotel?

The Old Huntington Town Hall building at the corner of Main Street and Stewart Avenue has long been eyed for a planned 55-room boutique hotel. (Long Islander News photo/Andrew Wroblewski)

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The Old Town Hall property, which has long been eyed for a planned boutique hotel, may be changing hands.

Emerson J. Dobbs, owner of the 227 Main St. property in Huntington village, is in negotiations regarding the property with Long Island businessman George Tsunis, according to sources familiar with the plan.

Thomas Hirschmann, the Huntington-based real estate attorney representing Dobbs confirmed there have been talks, but declined to name the buyer or go into futrther detail.

The property has long been eyed for a 55-room boutique hotel, which Dobbs got approval for back in 2013 from the Huntington Planning Board.

The approved plans call for the existing two-and-a-half-story structure to be preserved as the hotel’s lobby, lounge and meeting rooms, and construction of a new 31,832-square-foot guestroom wing. Twenty parking stalls are planned for the basement level.

Back in February, the planning board reinstated conditional approval for the plan after Dobbs did not obtain a valid building permit in connection with the project before the imposed five-year deadline, according to town documents.

The recertification of the site plan approval means that a developer has until March 2023 to file for building permits before the plans are considered expired.

Dobbs is managing member of 29 Green Street LLC and 227 Main Street LLC.

Tsunis, of Cold Spring Harbor, is CEO of Chartwell Hotels, which develops and manages hotels in the northeast.