After years of decay, 7-Eleven in Bay Shore comes to the rescue

Long Island Business News, Feb 15, 2008 by David Winzelberg

This is the latest in LIBN's occasional series, "Abandoned LI" - about those commercial Island eyesores that never seem to find, or hold onto, the right tenant.

The block-long row of abandoned yellow buildings on West Main Street in Bay Shore has prompted more than its share of frowns from passersby.

Once a busy family-owned service station and auto repair business, the properties have been boarded up for about five years, becoming canvases for graffiti and magnets for trash. Ironically, the properties could have been redeveloped three years ago, when Hess was interested in putting a new gas station and convenience store on the site. But broker Roger Delisle, from Island Associates in Smithtown, said that some neighbors complained about the plan and he couldn't complete the lease.

The properties were then sold by Conoco Philips to a group of private investors called 301 West Main LLC, but Delisle said the next proposal for the property, to spilt the site between Starbucks and a bank, was shot down by zoning restrictions.

"Starbucks wanted a drive-thru, but the bank had one too, and only one is allowed there," Delisle said. He added that neighbors also complained about people hanging out at the Starbucks at night.

But Delisle was undeterred and still bent on redeveloping the site, when 7-Eleven came to the rescue. The broker met with Bay Shore community members last week, and although some still had concerns about the all-night hours of the 7-Eleven, Delisle is optimistic that the latest plan will go through.

Ann Webster, a neighbor whose property backs the redevelopment site, said she's ok with the plan, but wants a buffer to minimize the impact.

The Suffolk County National Bank has agreed to lease one end of the block on Sunset Road, while a new 7-Eleven will take the other on Seafield Lane, according to Delisle. Approvals from the Town of Islip are pending.