Demolition begins on Club 91 as county closes on Summerwind land

The demolition of Club 91 began for real Thursday morning, as the closing with Suffolk County was completed Wednesday.

A ceremonial demolition was held Monday — the day before Election Day — with Supervisor Sean Walter getting to run the backhoe and tear out a section of the building.

The site will become Summerwind Square, with 52-workforce housing apartments and retail space. Construction is expected to be done in about 10 months.

Suffolk County will contribute $1.9 million toward the project, to be built along Peconic Avenue, replacing an empty lot, the old Club 91 building and a small building previously occupied by a barber shop, then a cigar store.

The county is buying the properties through the Hauppauge-based Long Island Partnership for Housing, because New York State law does not allow the county to be in the housing business, officials said.

In return for the cash, approved in 2010, the county will require that the project’s 52 rental apartments remain “affordable” to residents living and working in Suffolk County for at least the next three decades, county officials said.