Demolition gets underway of former Sears, Roebuck building in Riverhead

The old Sears-Roebuck building is coming down. Demolition of the circa-1949 one-story, brick building got underway today. The three adjacent buildings to the east will also be razed.

Sheldon Gordon, a representative of Riverhead Enterprises, the company that owns all four buildings, last month declined to discuss plans for the site. He could not be reached for comment this afternoon.

Riverhead Enterprises had signed a contract to sell the buildings to Georgica Green Ventures, but that contract fell through after the State Historic Preservation Office would not allow the facade of the Sears building to be torn down. Georgica Green, which planned to build a five-story, mixed-use apartment building on the site, wanted to take advantage of New York State-sponsored financing, so the plan required an application to the State Historic Preservation Office, which objected to the demolition. The agency’s sign-off was required because the developer was seeking state assistance for the workforce housing development.

The buildings are within the Riverhead Main Street Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The Sears Roebuck building was determined to be a “contributing resource” to the historic district.

Georgica Green Ventures is now in contract to buy another site on the same block, former home of the Dinosaur Walk Museum (the McCabe’s Office Products property), where it plans a scaled-down version of the development.

Should any future developer of the site require state or federal assistance in the form of tax credits or otherwise,  the project would still be subject to federal and state laws that prevent such assistance following an “anticipatory demolition,”  according to Riverhead Landmarks Preservation Commission chairman Richard Wines.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl