A historic Greenport shipyard advanced its bid Monday for county preservation money that would permanently keep most of the waterfront property in maritime use as a new owner prepares to take over this fall.

The Suffolk County Working Waterfront Committee voted unanimously to recommend pursuing the purchase of the 186-year-old property’s development rights through a conservation easement during a meeting at the Cornell Cooperative Extension building in Riverhead. Committee member Mary Bess Phillips, a Greenport Village trustee, abstained.

The decision prompted applause for Nick Voulgaris III, the Huntington-based entrepreneur who is under contract to purchase the 4.36-acre Greenport Yacht & Shipbuilding Co. property, as The Suffolk Times previously reported. The proposed easement would cover more than three acres.

“Billionaires can come buy these properties in a snap of a finger, and they’re lost forever, turned into condominiums and luxury homes,” Mr. Voulgaris said in an interview following the committee’s decision. “Being able to preserve what is left, just like what the county is doing with farmland, is incredible.”

Under the Suffolk County’s new Working Waterfront Preservation Program, signed in Greenport last year, the county would not purchase the shipyard outright. It would pay the property owner for development rights through a conservation easement restricting future uses and preserving the site’s working-waterfront functions forever — even if the ownership changes hands. The property would remain privately owned.

Once the application reaches the point where the easement and contract for the conservation easement must be signed, an active private owner is required to voluntarily sign the development rights away, regardless of who is the landowner at that time, whether it’s Mr. Voulgaris or Mr. Clarke. 

Committee member Tom Kehoe of Huntington rose the question on whether the application should move forward while the sale remains pending and the title has not transferred to Mr. Voulgaris. The committee’s legal counsel said at the Monday meeting a contract vendee can appear before the committee with the current landowner’s approval, which Mr. Voulgaris has.

Mr. Voulgaris said his priority is to preserve the shipyard as a resource for mariners in perpetuity while revitalizing the property with expanded boat repairs, dockage and rental space for marine trades and marine-adjacent businesses.

“We’re all stewards of the sea,” the avid sailor said. “I’m a lover of the waterfront and making this location a true asset for the community is my goal in preservation.”

Financial terms of Mr. Voulgaris’ deal to buy the shipyard from current owner Stephen Clarke have not been disclosed. Separately, no value has been placed on the proposed easement, and the county has not approved or paid any money for the shipyard’s preservation.

The county allocated $2.5 million for working-waterfront acquisitions this year and has earmarked $9.5 million for the program through 2028. That funding is available for projects across Suffolk County and has not been earmarked for the Greenport shipyard.

The application is expected to go before the County Legislature’s environment, parks and agriculture committee on Aug. 31. The full Legislature would then have to authorize an appraisal of the development rights before the county could negotiate a price and easement terms with Mr. Voulgaris. Any eventual acquisition would require another vote by the Legislature.

A recommendation by the Working Waterfront Committee does not guarantee or imply the Suffolk County Legislature will authorize the appraisal or go forward with the acquisition of a conservation easement.

“This property is singular in its history, its protection of the working waterfront, and all of the work that has been done there for well over 186 years,” Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi said at Monday’s meeting. “It provides a base for any number of workers who restore wooden boats, work on fishing boats, work with oystermen and baymen, and together with the ferry companies as well.”

North Ferry Co. general manager Bridg Hunt and South Ferry representative Briton Clark both spoke in favor of the project, calling the shipyard a “critical resource” for their companies’ operations. Mr. Hunt said North Ferry has relied on the shipyard for emergency maintenance five times this year.

“I would have said two months ago, Greenport had one choice, and that was to watch their shipyard get bought by a billionaire and converted into condos after they cleaned up,” Mr. Clark said. “I met Nick a month ago, he came and talked to us for about three hours … It’s going to be a huge job, which I’m convinced he’s serious about doing.”

About the property

Greenport Yacht & Shipbuilding Co. traces its roots to 1840 and has been owned by Mr. Clarke for more than half a century.

Mr. Clarke previously confirmed that he plans to sell the shipyard after the summer season. Mr. Voulgaris said at Monday’s meeting that he anticipates closing the sale in mid-September.

The shipyard is not just a scenic slice of harborfront. The site currently supports Costello’s Dock Builders, boat repair and boatbuilding facilities, boat storage, commercial fishing vessels, ferry service support, leased dock space, a pump-out station and other marine commercial uses. It also includes about 100 slips, according to the county staff report.

Then there is the rail haul-out system, the only remaining facility in the area capable of removing larger vessels from the water for dry dock, inspection, repair and maintenance. The system remains in active use by Shelter Island ferry operators and larger commercial fishing vessels, which otherwise would have to travel off Long Island for comparable work, according to the report.

The report says any future easement or acquisition agreement should ensure the continuation of water-dependent commercial uses, marine access and haul-out capacity. It should also address fueling-station regulations, vessel removal and future hatchery or aquaculture improvements.

Voulgaris’ conceptual plans

The staff report states that Mr. Voulgaris expects to redevelop parts of the property after taking ownership. Among the issues identified are abandoned vessels, including a submerged craft at the end of one pier; an existing diesel fueling station that would need to be re-registered; and an abandoned hatchery that could be redeveloped for oyster production.

That could include a FLUPSY system, a floating nursery used to grow young shellfish. Mr. Voulgaris hopes to revive the hatchery to foster the shellfish industry and modernize the facility to better serve local ferries and commercial fishing vessels. His updated business plan also calls for another runway to haul vessels from the water and an ice house and packing facility for commercial fishermen.

He also wants to open portions of the property to the public, which he said could bring more visitors to downtown businesses. Other proposed offerings include kayak rentals, fishing charters, tall ship charters, transient moorings, ice and fuel sales, a bait shop and a pedestrian ferry.

Mr. Voulgaris hopes to partner with Stony Brook University and Cornell Cooperative Extension to create what he called a “living classroom” at the shipyard. He also discussed with reporters bringing in a nonprofit component similar to his efforts to revive Kerber’s Farm in Huntington.

Down the road, he told reporters he may consider a retail seafood market. He has spoken with Mayor Stuessi about hydrofoil electric boats to transfer fresh seafood with no additional carbon footprint. 

According to Mr. Voulgaris’ business plan, which county officials requested after the committee’s previous meeting, he projects that redeveloping the shipyard will cost at least $5 million.

Changes to the proposal

Rob Carpenter, a Suffolk County planner involved with the Working Waterfront Preservation Program, outlined several changes to the proposal before Monday’s vote following “many meetings regarding the proposed conceptual site plan” over the past month. Those include expanding the proposed easement to include additional boat-storage space and access to the shipyard’s rail haul-out system, Mr. Carpenter said.

The property also received another point in the program’s ranking system, bringing its score to 22 out of 25 because of its ability to haul out commercial fishing boats. The committee also reviewed a preliminary site plan and business-plan questionnaire from Mr. Voulgaris.

The Village of Greenport would retain planning and zoning authority over future changes to the property, including within the area excluded from the easement, Mr. Carpenter said.

Committee member Lillian McCullough of Southold questioned what environmental review would be required before the county purchases the easement. Ms. Phillips said the village would conduct its own State Environmental Quality Review Act review of future development applications.

County counsel Michael Camacho said the county would conduct a Phase I environmental site assessment as part of its due diligence and proceed to a Phase II assessment if the initial review recommends one.

Mr. Voulgaris said he would be willing to undergo an environmental review. 

“Long after we’re all gone, this property will be a working shipyard and provide a resource for the public to have access to the waterfront, in addition to its current primary purpose, which is to haul commercial fishing boats, be of service to the ferries, and so forth,” he said.

The post Historic East End shipyard advances bid for county preservation money ahead of sale appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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