Lynbrook village board unable to reach decision on Marriott developer’s extension request

The Lynbrook Village board of trustees did not reach a decision at a June 5 public hearing on whether or not to grant hotel developer Lee Browning an extension on the planning and construction of a proposed Courtyard by Marriott hotel — a project that has been 13 years in the making.

Browning, the president of Browning Hotel Properties, LLC, requested that the board grant him more time on the deadline to hand in building permits, architectural drawings and ultimately start and complete construction.

After hearing Browning’s lawyer, Bruce Hafner, state his case for an extension at Village Hall, Trustee Alan Beach made a motion for the board to put the decision on hold. Trustees Michael Hawxhurst and Ann Marie Reardon agreed with Beach, while Trustee Hilary Becker was not present. Mayor Bill Hendrick, however, expressed some frustration in yet another delay for the project and noted the urgency in getting it done.

“I kind of think we should vote and get this done, it’s been [13] years,” Hendrick said. “I say no to reserve [the vote], I’d like to do it now. I think people are waiting for this decision to come out.”

Since Hendrick was outvoted, 3-1, Browning will have to wait to find out what the board decides. Hendrick said he would rather have the trustees vote in a televised public meeting instead of a work session, so the decision likely will not be made until the July 17 board meeting. The next public meeting is June 19, but Hendrick said it is unlikely the board will be ready by then.

During the hearing, Hafner explained that because of the unique characteristics of the building — a six-story hotel built on top of a municipal parking garage on Broadway and Langdon Place — an engineer would have to make sure the parking garage is structurally sound and then work with the Marriott architects on drawing up plans for the hotel itself. In addition, the village, the building department, the fire department, representatives of the county and others would all have to give their approval.

“The approval time is larger than we anticipated,” Hafner explained to the board. “That’s just the character of the building and the way it has to be constructed. … So my purpose here tonight is to ask the board to extend the timelines that we had in the [lease agreement] to permit submission of the plans.”

The garage would have 306 parking spaces, which would be divided between the hotel and the village. The Marriott would have 156 rooms, a pool, exercise rooms, meeting areas and two outdoor “garden decks” for cocktail hours and parties.

Hafner said once the garage is deemed to be structurally sound, it would likely take at least six months for the architects to draw up hotel building plans for the approval of the board and Brian Stanton, the superintendent of the building department.

“There’s two components to it,” Hafner said. “No. 1 is we need a building permit so that the building is prepared and built structurally correctly. And second, the board has an interest in making sure that what is built meets what our agreement was under the lease agreement.”

Browning has been trying to build a Marriott in Lynbrook since 2004, but three other locations in the village did not work out. The reasons included negative community reaction and the inability of Browning and the village to reach a deal. He has remained determined to build a hotel in Lynbrook, which he called a logistically good place to do so. He has built five hotels, including a Marriott in Riverhead that was completed last month.

Though he remains steadfast in his desire to complete the project, Browning also requested for the board to consider giving him the option to assign the lease to the property to someone else. The original agreement between Browning and the village had a stipulation that Browning could turn the lease over to someone who is approved by Marriott upon the completion of construction. He has requested for it to be amended to say that he had the option to do so before construction is completed if he wanted to.

“This board is concerned that it’s gonna slow this whole thing up,” Hendrick said in response to the request. “Marriott’s approval is very nice and fine, but this board said they want to approve the Marriott man as well.”

Hafner reassured the board that Marriott has never closed a hotel and would not let Browning be bought out by anyone who was not qualified. He added that the person would be contractually obligated to fulfill everything Browning agreed to.

According to Ben Trencle, an attorney for the village board, the agreement in place will see the village collect the greater of either $5 per day on each occupied room or $14,000 per month from Browning, which would be a minimum of $168,000 annually. At 100 percent occupancy, the village would collect $284,700 per year, and Browning has guaranteed 60 percent occupancy at all times or he will pay the difference.

If the board ultimately decides to grant Browning’s request, construction likely would not begin until November 2018, the trustees said. The goal would be to then complete the project by November 2020 or May 2021.