Second floor takes shape – $16 million project

It’s easy to take a ceiling for granted. But anyone who watched James Pincott, East Hampton Town Project Manager, brief the Town Council on work on the Montauk Playhouse on Tuesday may have a new appreciation for what’s often happening right overhead.

On the day of the “big pour,” 25 cement trucks poured 250 cubic meters of concrete over an intricate lattice of rebar suspended above the ground-floor pool. It’s called a “monolithic pour” because it all happens at once.

“Everything has to cure at the same time,” said City Councilor David Lys. “It was an assembly line of delivery trucks on a schedule.”

Mr. Pincott was pleased to report that the $16.1 million project, funded with a combination of city funds, New York State grants and an $8.25 million donation from the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation, is on schedule and construction is expected to be completed by June 2025.

So next summer, when you swim in the 22-meter, four-lane fitness pool on the ground floor or the smaller therapy pool, look up and think of all the weight above you.

“I’m amazed at how transformative it is,” said Mr Lys. “You can see how the building can be used in the future.”

Initially, he said, it was unclear whether there would be enough money for the second floor, which will serve as a multi-purpose cultural center with three large rooms for lectures, meetings and conferences. “This will only increase flexibility. I’m glad we were able to raise the funding because soon we will have a space there that Montauk is very proud of.”

The concrete floor was polished smooth. “Everything is built on top of it, so it has to be practically perfect,” said Mr Pincott.

Motorized partitions with panels weighing 800 pounds each serve as walls between rooms. Mr. Pincott explained that the weight of the panels depends on their soundproofing. In order to host simultaneous events in adjacent rooms, the panels had to be thick enough to block sound, hence the weight.

Instead of extending the second floor the entire length of the building, it ends just before it, creating an opening from the pool to the ceiling of the building, a light well. “The light coming into the pool is very dramatic, holistic and works very well,” Mr. Lys said.

The Playhouse is a building designed by Carl Fisher in the 1920s that had fallen into disrepair before being donated to the town at the turn of the 21st century. Beginning in 2003, the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation restored half of the building, which opened as a community center.

“When you add the architectural aspects of the old Carl Fisher building … they are exposed. I think the combination of a building on the National Historic Register with a modern use is very well done,” Mr. Lys said.

Mr Pincott showed a slide of what the building looked like when work began in April: an empty 4,600-square-foot warehouse with a sand floor. The space was quickly divided up and prepared for future use.

“We only started work four and a half months ago,” he said. “But to me it feels like a year ago. I can see the progress. I think the second floor is the step that shows, ‘Yes, something is really happening here.’ Now you can see it happening, with the enclosure and the individual rooms. It’s really coming to life.”

Sarah Iudicone, chair of the Playhouse Foundation Board, had the opportunity to tour the site two weeks ago. “Pictures don’t do it justice,” she said by phone yesterday. “When you see the design of the space, you know it’s going to change Montauk.”

She said the board was pleased that construction was progressing so well. “The construction team is so professional. They coordinate well and meet every two weeks – it’s great.”

The board’s next step is to raise money to equip the space with equipment and supplies for the programs that will be held there. Most of the money so far has gone toward the construction project itself.

“We are so grateful and happy that the community continues to support this because it is a long-term project,” said Ms. Iudicone. “With construction starting, we have new donor interest, which is wonderful.”

With a report by Christine Sampson