Developers of The Enclaves resort hotel in Southold are asking for a third extension of their site plan approval this month, as delays in financing continue to stymie the start of construction.
Pictured Above: Photographs taken by Southold Town Planning staff of attempts to cover the sand piles between June 5 and June 18 of this year.
The 44-room hotel, proposed to include two restaurants, a spa and a 100-person capacity event space, received a six month extension, to July 15, 2026, from the Southold Town Planning Board in January of 2026.
Developers said at the time they were awaiting final approval of a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Business & Industry loan program, which they had expected to receive in April.
Applicants told the Planning Board at that time that they’d lost $25 million in financing from Dime Bank in the midst of public opposition to the project.
Project developer and architect Andrew Giambertone and his business partner Edward Glackin told the Planning Board at its June 22 work session that the closing on the new loan had been delayed by a lengthy federal environmental review known as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The NEPA process had also required them to stop construction after they had already cleared the 6.75-acre lot, completed excavation and begun pouring foundations for the buildings, developers had told the Planning Board in December of 2025.
Mr. Giambertone told the Planning Board June 22 that the federal review made New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) environmental review, which the project had already undergone before site plan approval, “look like child’s play.”
He said the federal review included two studies of bat populations, soil testing and modification of the location of the pool.
He added that another funding source, C-Pace, Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, also required a change in energy efficiency requirements, “including going full electric from primarily gas-powered buildings. We had to have our mechanical engineers do a full redesign, with a larger electrical service. The process turned into a protracted mess.”
The developers said more than $14 million in private equity has been invested in the project, with more than $900,000 spent to date, including application fees with the Marriott Corporation.
“In these times that we’re in, construction financing of a hotel in particular are really challenging. We have really difficult debt markets out there,” said Mr. Glacken. “We have what I think are really two great loans that are reasonably affordable.”
Mr. Giambertone said the developers had received their loan documents, and were “beyond the underwriting process. We’ve been told from now its 60 to 90 days to close.”
“If we close on Monday, we’ll be working on Tuesday. We’ll start putting the forms [for the foundations] back up and go,” he said, adding that builder Joe Petrocelli is “chomping at the bit” to get to work on the project.
The Planning Board had granted the last six-month extension in January of 2026 on the condition that piles of excavated dirt on the site be covered to prevent dust from blowing and causing disturbance to neighboring properties, but Town Senior Planner Brian Cummings, who is assigned to this project, said the Planning Department continues to receive complaints from neighbors about the dirt piles.
“Ongoing efforts have been made… but those efforts have not been sufficient,” he said, adding that the Planning Department had recommended burying and backfilling the edge of the tarps covering the piles to keep them from blowing off.
He said a performance bond required by the Planning Department could be used to rectify the situation if the developers didn’t make more efforts to cover the piles.
Mr. Cummings added that other permits for the project are also soon slated to expire. The permit for the sanitary system from the Suffolk County Department of Health is slated to expire Dec. 3 of this year, the state Department of Transportation permit expires Aug 31 and an extension of their Southold Town Zoning Board of Appeals permit expires Dec. 2, he said, reminding the applicants that those permits would also need to be renewed.
Mr. Giambertone said the developers had attempted to hold the tarps down with sandbags, and then had buried the edge of the tarp in the sand, but “even with that, the wind pulls it up. This particular year, the wind’s been brutal.”
Planning Board members suggested using heavier tarps.
“We’ll definitely look into that. We’re trying to be good neighbors,” said Mr. Glacken.
Planning Board members seemed willing to grant the applicants a 45 day extension to properly cover the piles before considering another six-month extension. A resolution is expected to be on the agenda for a vote at the board’s July 13 meeting.
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