Looking to Buy 84 Lumber Spot, U-Haul On Board With Civic's Plans

Closing in on four years of vacancy, the old 84 Lumber yard may soon be open again as U-Haul is looking to move in.

The moving and storage company is in talks to purchase the 19,500 square foot property and are working closely with the Port Jefferson-Terryville Civic Association to comply with the civic’s hopes of a main street look in the area.

“We gave them some designs,” said civic treasurer Lou Antoniello. “They came back with, what would be facing 112, a design that looks like East Main Street when you walk into Port Jefferson.”

Drawings have gone back and forth between U-Haul and the civic as adjustments are made. Antoniello pointed out one instance where a design included eight-feet tall lettering, which the civic shot down. U-Haul has since redone the drawings and plan to formally present them to the board at September’s meeting.

“They are going out of their way to make it look anything but a U-Haul, they’re going to do a really nice job for us,” Antoniello said. “They understand what we’re trying to accomplish on the south side and eventually on the north side…a true main street type atmosphere.”

The lumber yard, which opened in 1985, closed in January of 2010. One condition of the sale of the property, which includes the building and two storage sheds, is that the new owners could not turn it into a lumber yard or direct competitor of 84 Lumber.