Skydive L.I. owners pitch plans for indoor simulator facility in Calverton

A public hearing on tax abatements for Skydive Long Island’s planned indoor skydiving simulation facility will be held by Riverhead’s Industrial Development Agency next month.

“This would be the first of its kind in the tri-state area,” said Ray Maynard, Skydive Long Island’s president. He said the nearest such facilities are in New Hampshire and North Carolina.

Maynard and his wife, Barbara Schiano, are seeking exemptions on sales and mortgage taxes and an as-yet unspecified reduction of the real property taxes assessed on the new improvements.

Maynard said he expects the facility to increase his business’s annual customer volume of between 40,000 and 50,000 by roughly another third. It would be open year-round as it would not be weather dependent. The current service is offered April through October and on weekends in November, and customers are required to be 18 or older. The indoor facility would be open to children as young as five or six years old, Maynard said.

Proposed is a four-story building occupying a 100-foot-by-100-foot space near the company’s current building in the Enterprise Park at Calverton. Maynard said the building would include a room for large groups, as the facility would be a big draw for birthday parties, and a third-floor restaurant planned for phase two of the $4.5 million project.

Maynard presented his plans to the members of the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency at its monthly meeting at Town Hall Monday evening.

Tracy Stark-James, the IDA’s executive director, said the board considers a project’s overall economic impact when deciding on any tax incentives. She said the proposal’s prospect as a regional tourism destination works in its favor.

“It means again putting Riverhead on the map, outside of Riverhead,” she said.

She also said there is an “educational element” since the facility could be used by competitive skydiving teams for training during off hours, which Maynard said would be offered at discounted rates.

Maynard described the simulator as a wind tunnel that will be between 25 and 55 feet high. Fans in the basement shoot an air current up the tunnel at upwards of 170 miles per hour. The tunnel would have two glass sides so spectators can watch divers from outside. Different price structures are planned, but the standard rate will be $70 for two minutes for adults and $55 for children, Maynard said.

Maynard said the North Carolina facility has been so popular that the fans once ran for 27 straight days without being turned off.

Stark-James said the hearing will be held on the IDA’s regular meeting date of the first Monday of the month, Dec. 2.

RiverheadLOCAL file photos by Peter Blasl