Major renovations pitched for Ram’s Head Inn
The Ram’s Head Inn is about to get a major makeover if owners James and Linda Eklund can secure approvals from the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Suffolk County Department of Health Services.
The Eklunds, who have had the inn on the market for the past two years, were in the audience at Tuesday night’s Planning Board meeting, listening to Susannah Herrmann of EN-Consultants outlining a proposal she said would modernize the inn while retaining its charm.
Because the Planning Board’s engineer, Joe Lombardi, had been hired as the engineer on the Ram’s Head Inn project, the presentation Tuesday night will likely have to be repeated as soon as the board can hire another engineer to advise its members.
Basic plans call for retaining the current 22 guest rooms, but only 10 will be in the main building. The others will be in cottages to be constructed on the property. A new septic system is planned to serve the renovated property. In place of some of the guest rooms, some space on the top floor of the main building will be used for storage. The tennis court is to be replaced by a swimming pool. There will be an increase in parking spaces .
Assuming all approvals are in place, construction would start in October, Ms. Herrmann said.
Does this represent a renewed commitment by the Eklunds to continue to manage the Ram’s Head?
“Right now it is,” Ms. Eklund responded following the presentation.
But it doesn’t take Ram’s Head off the market.
PANDION LANDING
It was a red letter moment for Pandion Landing owner Richard Hogan Tuesday night when the Planning Board formally signed off on development plans that have changed since the luxury housing development being built on the shores of Coecles Harbor was first introduced.
Mr. Hogan bought the property from the Passionist Fathers in April 2015 for $15.1 million and began the process of outlining plans for the community development there soon after the purchase.
The only step now is to clear with the Waterways Management Advisory Council (WMAC) plans that will establish the siting of a dock to serve lot number one in the compound should the purchaser of that lot ever want a dock, instead of using the community dock.
There were some questions about where that dock might be placed and after a recent WMAC meeting in which members determined it needed to be moved away from Burns Road so it wouldn’t interfere with a town landing and mooring field. Following the meeting, Chairman John Needham spoke with Mr. Hogan and it was reported at Tuesday’s Town Board work session that it looks like that has been acceptable. But it needs to be formalized by the WMAC at its May meeting and then approved by the Town Board.
MISTAKE TO BE RIGHTED
A 50-year old mistake in a survey is expected to be corrected by the Planning Board that held a hearing Tuesday night on an application from Lorraine Bocci and Gardiner’s Bay Country Club. The two have co-existed for all those years, but now want to correct the mistaken survey. There were no questions about the application this week and it’s likely the Planning Board will be able to act rapidly on what amounts to a lot line change in May.
