Smithtown School District Sale of Administrative Office Building Delayed

The sale of the Smithtown School District's administrative office to a Tennessee-based developer, which was approved in November, has been delayed, according to a report in Newsday.

In November, the Board of Education sold the property, located on 26 New York Avenue in downtown Smithtown, to Southern Land Company, LLC to build one- and two- bedroom apartments for $14.8 million or $71,000 per unit.

In addition, as part of the contract, there is a 75-day “due diligence” period, during which the developer has the right to back out of the purchase, which would have ended on Monday.

However, earlier this month, the company asked the district for a 30-day extension on the due diligence period due to the fact that the school district did not give the company the property survey they needed until a few weeks ago which delayed the verification of the title, Newsday reported.

The company's lawyer, Anthony Guardino, told Newsday that despite the delay, the deal to purchase the property is still "very much alive.”

One proposed plan for the property includes 13 buildings with a total of 250 apartment and another proposed plan includes 14 buildings with 252 apartments.