An Aldi grocery store is coming to Shirley.
The Brookhaven Town Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved an extension and a loading dock for a never-filled building where the Aldi will be located in the Floyd Harbor Shopping Center on the south side McGraw Street and the west side Grand Avenue.
The center’s other occupants include Applebee’s and an AT&T store.
Chris Damianos, principal of Damianos Realty Group, which bought the property two years ago, told the ZBA that having a tenant such as Aldi will attract others to the center, which he said is currently “a troubled asset.” He prefaced that by saying his company specializes in turning around such properties.
Damianos said the center is in a great location at the corner of William Floyd Parkway and Montauk Highway, but that “it was not designed to have a major tenant, which it needs to have.”
“Please give us the tools to make this shopping center successful,” Damianos told the board via a Zoom conference call.
The ZBA also approved Damianos’ request to make improvements to the center’s sign, though at a maximum height of 20 feet, not the requested 25 feet.
The ZBA’s sign-off “now greenlights the project,” said Brookhaven Councilman Dan Panico, who represents the district in which the shopping center is located.
“I spoke to Chris Damianos earlier this week. I know that he’s excited. It’s nice to see this shopping center beginning to fill up,” Panico said, adding that the store will not only add variety for shoppers to the area but that it is further proof that the Tri-Hamlet is a growing business destination that will attract jobs.
“You’re starting to see a lot more interest in the Montauk Highway business corridor.”
By Carl Corry, Greater Long Island
https://moriches.greaterlongisland.com/2020/09/23/aldi-grocery-store-shirley/