Leaders of the Shinnecock Indian Nation broke ground Friday on a gas station and travel plaza on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays.
The new facility will span approximately 10 acres of tribal territory just north of the highway’s westbound lanes. The nation hopes to complete the project by spring of 2025, according to Lisa Goree, chairwoman of the Shinnecock Tribal Council.
The Shinnecock Nation has been planning the project for the past four to five years, Ms. Goree said.
While the tribe did take a loan to fund the project, it is not accepting assistance from outside investors, and is relying on internal funding instead. Barré Hamp, president of Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings, said the funding is “100-percent Shinnecock.”
Seneca Bowen, treasurer of the Shinnecock Tribal Council, said the council has “made conversations a reality. The construction of this plaza is a huge win for Shinnecock.”
Revenues from the project will support programs in mental health, drug addiction recovery, and home expansions, according to Mr. Bowen.
“All of the projects that we have been working on — the signs, the dispensary, now the gas station, and a couple other projects that are in the queue — are all going to be streams of revenue to help benefit our people in a real and direct way. . . . That’s our goal, that’s our mission,” he said.
The gas station and travel plaza will cost about $18 million. As for the staffing, Mr. Hamp said he hopes to see many members of the tribe apply to work at the gas station.
“This will be one piece . . . in the puzzle, and the full puzzle is full economic development, which we hope will create and foster self-governance and self-sufficiency as a tribal nation,” Mr. Hamp added. All the net proceeds from the new construction project will go to the Shinnecock Nation, he said.
As for community feedback, John Leonard, president of the Hampton Bays Alliance, said the organization welcomes the project.
“The Hampton Bays Alliance has great respect for the sovereignty of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, especially with regard to any use it makes of the lands in and on its tribal territory,” Mr. Leonard said in an email. “To us, the Nation owes no explanation. We consider the Nation to be a valuable community partner and welcome the day when we will work together to make positive change in the Town of Southampton.”
The leaders of the Shinnecock Nation also addressed potential pushback from the community. “We do have residents right there in Hampton Bays on Newtown Road and Quail Run that are concerned of what the potential impact is going to be to their property or their lifestyle,” said Ms. Goree, the first woman to be elected chair of the tribal council since it was established in 1792.
Some level of community pushback was expected.
“There’s always been a concerted effort from those outside of the nation that have tried to slow our progress, for what reason we don’t know,” Mr. Bowen said. “But we’re here. We’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to continue to move our nation forward in the best way possible.”
