Demolition Begins at Jefferson Plaza, Clearing Way for 280 Apartments

Demolition has begun at Jefferson Plaza in Port Jefferson Station, the first physical step in a sweeping redevelopment that will replace one of Long Island's oldest shopping centers with a mixed-use complex. Heavy equipment rolled onto the 10.4-acre site at the intersection of Terryville Road and Route 112 last week, clearing the way for a project that would transform the largely vacant plaza into what plans describe as a miniature downtown.

The project will feature a main street dividing homes from shops, according to the plans submitted to Brookhaven Town by owner Staller Associates Realty of Islandia. The current plan accommodates 280 apartments, 224 of which will be market-rate, with the remaining 56 units set aside as affordable housing for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The attorney for the applicant projected that approximately 50,000 square feet of commercial space would be occupied by a restaurant, food hall, retail, office space and health club. A separate figure of 49,400 square feet appears in other accounts of the plans.

The Brookhaven Town Board approved the long-contested Staller Associates rezoning application for the Jefferson Plaza property on Sept. 26. It was a crucial step signifying the progression of Staller's plan to repurpose the plaza into a residential property along with commercial usage. Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) announced the approval of the zone change from J2 Business to Commercial Redevelopment District, thus allowing Staller to begin planning for the apartments building. The CRD zoning code was amended in 2020, and CRD zones are "designed to achieve economically beneficial and socially desirable redevelopment which is more creative and imaginative in its land use," according to the Brookhaven Town Code.

Anthony Guardino, a partner at the Hauppauge-based Farrell Fritz law firm who represents Staller Associates, traced the property's history at public hearings, arguing that its past had contributed to "an unsustainably high vacancy rate" and the plaza's blighted conditions. The CRD code, he said, "creates the planning tool which the Stallers are using to redevelop their blighted shopping center into a destination development with a dynamic mix of residential and commercial uses," adding that "after many years of planning and design and input from the town and the community and numerous plan revisions, the Stallers believe it is time to put pencils down."

The demolition comes after years of accelerating decline at the 1959-built center. Jefferson Plaza was one of Long Island's oldest shopping centers and originally spanned 112,000 square feet. It became largely vacant earlier this decade as tenants departed, including Rite Aid. Zorba the Greek restaurant, a neighborhood staple for 46 years, closed in January, leaving the strip with little to anchor foot traffic. Planet Fitness says it remains open and that hours are currently unaffected by the construction. A Subway located in a portion of the plaza that has not yet been knocked down has closed.

Public comments at hearings primarily revolved around building height, density, traffic and emergency services. Ira Costell, president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, stressed the importance of proper planning in weighing those factors. Lou Antoniello, the association's treasurer, acknowledged the site's condition while questioning the pace of the approval process. "We are not saying this project won't be good for the community," Antoniello said at the public hearing. "That's a blighted shopping center. This project is not ready to be approved tonight. I don't understand the rush to push this thing through."

Staller has projected the development would inject $7 million per year into the local economy through the concentration of market-rate renters near major employment hubs including Mather and St. Charles hospitals and Stony Brook University. Kornreich said Staller will likely enter into a form of partnership with a special-needs housing advocacy group to manage the 56 units reserved for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, a population Staller has described as "a tremendously underserved community as it relates to housing on Long Island.