New Hotel Proposed Next Door to Smithtown Sheraton

Hauppauge business owners are seeking permission to build a new hotel next door to the Smithtown Sheraton.

Smithtown Long Island Hotel Properties representatives went before Smithtown Town Board on Sept. 9 to present plans for a 144-room hotel named the Springhill Suites Marriott. The four-story building will be constructed on the eastern, overflow parking lot of the Smithtown Sheraton on Motor Parkway. 

"At the Sheraton, a lot of people fly in as they are here for corporate business meetings," said Jeff Durham, general manager of the Smithtown Sheraton. "The new hotel will be a drive in for regional people who are looking for a nice hotel room at a lower price point." 

The new hotel would only offer a limited service, lacking the banquet and catering space available at the Sheraton. It would have its own outdoor swimming pool for guests.

Durham said the company is confident in building despite the recession, as it is preparing for the future.

“The essence is to plan for the future when the economy has started to turn around,” he said. “The corporate traveler and travel in general will be stronger than it is now and they were be in a good position to prosper.”

Frank DeRubeis, director of Smithtown Planning and Community Development, said the project is within “ballpark of getting approval” but the Planning Board has a few concerns.

Smithtown Planning Board members have raised concerns that by eliminating the Smithtown Sheraton’s overflow parking lot would leave insufficient parking for guests. The proposed blueprints call for 196 parking spaces, 16 spaces more the required 180 minimum, argued Bram Weber, an attorney representing the hotel group.

In addition, the owners will need to seek a special exception for the building’s height. The four-story hotel with parapets is projected to be 46-feet tall, six feet above the 40-foot allowed in light industrial areas.

DeRubeis said the board will not object to the height, but they have requested a parking study and environmental impact study before the project is approved. He estimated that construction could start as early as spring of 2012.