Dan's Papers - June 26, 2009 - Givin' You The Business

The 2009 summer season is now a few weeks old and one thing is for certain, umbrellas are in fashion in the Hamptons. Navigating through these early summer showers are entrepreneurs with projects that fly in the face of the economic downturn - the opening of new businesses, the creation of new developments, or the finalizing of approved planning board projects. All of these situations come to bear in the tiny historic village of Water Mill.

Local Water Mill developer (and former Southampton Planner and Town Councilman) Dennis Suskind expressed confidence that his Water Mill Train Station development, which is located on the land north of the highway and right behind the Water Mill Shoppes. Suskind said it will eventually come to fruition but not in the "immediate future." Now that the project has passed the Town Planning Board, some changes that it demanded will be "fine tuned into the plans," with the emphasis now not on retail space but office space for the 21,000 sq. ft. project, which will incorporate the creation of six new buildings, while including the historic train station in the mix. "Very few if any retail businesses will be in the development," Suskind explained.

The project was met with a fair share of opposition from at least five community organizations as well as the Southampton Town Trustees, mainly over the issue of traffic in an area where many feel there's already a bottleneck. In addition, opponents felt the project was green lighted to be larger than what the property might call for because of a shared parking agreement with the Shoppes. Nonetheless, the project was approved by a vote of 4-2 in May.

Moving across to the south side of the highway, you'll find the completed and ready-to-be-rented Water Mill Ateliers development - three state of the art commercial buildings created with a barn like theme and lots of windows and high ceilings. Ari Meisel has planned and created this project to be "energy efficient and occupant friendly." The development's sales staff is proclaiming it to be "8,000 feet of state of the art offices." The property will be LEED certified and environmentally sound. A competitor, who asked not to be named, was wondering why work has seem to be halted on the project, which is all but complete except for interior finishing touches and the parking lot.

While Meisel and Suskind are bullish long term on Water Mill's commercial future, a walk through the village revealed a touchy time for small businesses. The big clue? A substantial amount of unrented space with the season already in progres. However, there are two new businesses in the Water Mill Shoppes. Joining the existing Citarella, Foody's Pizza-Grille, Blockbuster Video, Vitamin Shoppe, Water Mill Cleaners, Southampton Wine and Liquor, Go West (which is having a huge moving sale), Flowers and Gifts, Muse and Dish will be two newcomers: Subway, the national fast food sandwich chain, and a new surf shop named the Flying Point Surf Outlet, which is now opened seven days a week.

It's fun to walk into a surf shop, especially at the beginning of a summer season, to see the cool new bathing attire and gadgets marketed to guarantee fun in the sun. (I noticed umbrellas there too!) The shop seemed to be doing a nice business, as was Subway. One vender of a shop on Route 27 in Water Mill said business this year is down about 30% so far, maybe due to the weather and the economy. Since he owns the building, he thinks he will be okay.

Before researching this article, I'd never actually walked the business district of Water Mill. In fact, the only time I'd stop there was to have breakfast at the famous Hamptons Café Espresso Bar on the South side of Route 27 across from Deerfield Road. It has always been the morning place for Water Mill residents and visitors to read Dan's Papers while having a great breakfast. As it turned out, a walk down the red bricked sidewalk of the Water Mill Square was pleasant, with the smell of take-out food, sounds of a piano rental and a sales shop that caught my eye. There's no mistaking that the Water Mill business district is in transition. With some shops not rented, because of the small size of the business district as opposed to Southampton and East Hampton Villages, it is a touch more noticeable. But the shops that were open had eager sales people ready to serve with charm. I drove to the Water Mill train station, in a sad state of neglect. Windows were boarded up, the parking lot had an Alfred Hitchcock atmosphere in the sunset hour. Despite the controversy over the plans for the spot, tasteful development is easily better than neglected ruins.