Suffolk’s $1.8M bid for old Kmart site in Middle Island rejected by developer

Garden City-based developer Wilbur Breslin has nixed Suffolk County’s approximately $1.8 million offer for his 21-acre parcel in Middle Island on which the county hoped to build a park with fields to be used for youth sports leagues, Newsday reported. This is the second time that Breslin has rejected an offer for the land, which is now a mostly empty lot after a Kmart store that stood on it was demolished in 2016. Breslin had asked for more than Suffolk officials were legally allowed to offer. The county, which resubmitted its bid in December, can only propose paying the appraisal value for the land. Breslin, however, is still talking to officials with the county and the Town of Brookhaven, County Legislator Sarah Anker told Newsday. “They may be negotiating a development, and he wants to develop that property,” said Anker, who hopes officials make another offer. Breslin is apparently in talks with Brookhaven officials about developing housing on the site along with park land. [Newsday]