Resort Plan Dead as Broad Cove Preserve Gets Protected

Two attempts to put a lavish resort on the waterfront of a Riverhead hamlet went nowhere. Thanks to the state, there won’t be a third try.

New York State finalized a nearly $11 million conservation easement at Broad Cove Preserve, permanently barring construction on land that preservationists long viewed as one of the East End’s most vulnerable large parcels, Newsday reported. The 100-acre waterfront site in Aquebogue, once floated as the home of a 500-room resort, is officially off the development map.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation paid $10.95 million for the easement, which cements protections on the former duck farm overlooking Flanders Bay. The property is owned by Peconic Land Trust, which acquired the site in 2021 while developers were circling, including one proposing a large-scale resort complex.

That resort idea wasn’t new: in 2016, a separate developer pitched a 500-room hotel and spa at Broad Cove before abandoning the plan. By the time the land trust moved to buy the property, the owner, Walo LLC, was still entertaining development offers.

The trust ultimately paid $11.5 million using private donations and short-term credit, betting the state would later step in with permanent protection.

The easement, recorded with the deed, prohibits development in perpetuity, even if the land trust eventually sells the property. It also guarantees public access, locking in recreational use at a site spanning roughly 100 acres, including about 8,000 feet of shoreline along Terry Creek and Broad Cove.

Preservation advocates framed the deal as a close call. Peconic Land Trust officials said development was an “imminent threat” when the group moved to acquire the land, which sits adjacent to Indian Island County Park and has been flagged in the state’s Open Space Conservation Plan since the early 1990s.

“What was once slated for a major waterfront development project has now been preserved and transformed into a beautiful public recreational space in perpetuity,” Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said in a statement.

— Holden Walter-Warner