What will become of two former propane facilities on West Main?

The future of two recently closed and vacant propane storage facilities on West Main Street remains uncertain.

The closures came after Paraco Gas, a company based in Rye Brook, N.Y., which has a propane storage and distribution facility on Kroemer Avenue in Riverhead, bought the Long Island customer list of AmeriGas in August.

AmeriGas operated the facility at 915 W. Main as well as the former Synergy facility at 1264 West Main. Both sites are home to large storage tanks and other equipment.

Supervisor Sean Walter said he believes propane was “largely gone” from the sites.

Calls to Amerigas, based in Valley Forge, Pa., were not immediately returned.

A Paraco representative said the company has no connection to either site. According to town tax records, the property at 915 W. Main St. is owned by a Bayport corporation. The 1264 W. Main St. site is owned by Cornerstone Propane of Helena, Mont.

Walter said that the town would benefit most from the 915 W. Main location being used as green space, as it sits on bank of the Peconic River. But the town has no Community Preservation Fund money left to buy the property, he said. Because it would be “very difficult, if not impossible” to rezone the spot for residential use, he hopes to see it reoccupied by a business, he said.

The fate of both sites, as well as the stretch of West Main where they are located, depends largely on infrastructure development, the supervisor said.

“Quite frankly, if West Main Street is to ever come back from the doldrums it’ll be by extending the sewer line,” Walter said, noting that that prospect is tied to the proposed expansion of Blackman Plumbing Supply Co. at 940 W. Main — a project that’s been in limbo for several years.

The sites are located in the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers Act corridor, where land uses are regulated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations. The property owners could re-establish the pre-existing propane storage use on the sites within one year of the facilities becoming vacant. After that, any use of the site would have to comply with restrictive state regulations that are intended to protect the Peconic River.

Riverhead Community Development director Christine Kempner, said neither site would be considered a brownfield location. The CDA is administering a Brownfields Opportunity Area grant from N.Y. state that’s funding a downtown revitalization study.

Kempner said her agency is looking for what would make sense for new properties along the river in general, the idea being to make the corridor a more attractive entryway into town.

Glynis Berry, owner of the Art Sites gallery at 651 W. Main, said she would like to see the West Main Street riverfront redeveloped in a way that creates a continuity and connection with the rest of downtown – a walkable corridor with restaurants and mixed use establishments interspersed.

She said her gallery has survived on West Main Street for the past eight years because of the house attached to it, which she rents. She said such mixed use enables people with creative ideas to realize their vision. In the long run, that is what could transform West Main into a charming destination for residents and visitors, Berry said.

“When we first purchased this building it was derelict and it looked sort of forgotten – urban. Then as soon as we came back to the backyard, you’re starting to enter another world, and the Peconic River is like that. It’s kind of hidden from view – it’s like a secret resource, and so part of what we’d like to do is see this whole corridor provide more access and visual connection, and sort of a more integrated approach between the community and the natural resource,” Berry said, “and with the idea that whatever you do would enhance the river.”

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Micah Danney