Mayor: No Housing Development at King Kullen Site

News of King Kullen leaving Port Washington has prompted a flurry of speculation of what will take its place.

While some insist a developer will want to tear down the structure and replace it with condos, others say they are actively petitioning Trader Joes and Dave and Busters to open in Port Washington.

Port Washington North Mayor Bob Weitzner says the village is “in talks with a major retailer” that is eying space at the Soundview Marketplace. He said it was too early in the discussions to identify the retailer.

Still, Weitzner points out that the shopping center is in a business zone whose amenities and commercial taxes are “very important” to both the village and Port Washington as a whole.

As for the possibility of condos, the mayor wrote in a recent village newsletter:

“I would like to state as strongly as I can that the Board of Trustees and I will not entertain any proposals to rezone this property to senior housing or multi-unit residential. Rather, we have been putting our efforts into assisting the owners of the shopping center and their managing agents in finding suitable business tenants and assuring them they will be warmly welcomed to the Village of Port Washington North.”

Recently out of bankruptcy, the shopping center is under new management, and improvements to the center are already underway.

As Weitzner points out, changes in the shopping center’s leadership may prompt some businesses to leave while others sign leases.

He says the management “is actively speaking with a number of potential new tenants.” But it will take time for the center’s management to “re-develop it into a viable and profitable entity.”