Riverhead Town is seeking public input on the development of a town square on the south side of East Main Street.
Town officials and planning consultant Urban Design Associates met with stakeholders last week — property and business owners, representatives of the Riverhead Business Improvement District management association and the Riverhead IDA — to discuss the project.
“We got lots of great feedback and input,” Community Development Director Dawn Thomas said today.
The next step is to engage the general public, Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said at a press conference this morning.
The first public meeting to discuss the town square will be on April 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. The link to the Zoom meeting will be posted on a public participation website for the town square, where an interactive map and an online survey are also available.
Click here to visit the community engagement website for the town square.
The town is in contract to buy two vacant buildings at 117 and 121 East Main Street, as well as a third, occupied building at 127 East Main Street from Riverhead Enterprises for a total of $4.85 million. The town plans to demolish the vacant buildings for the creation of the town square. Another vacant building at 111 East Main Street, on the western boundary of the future town square, has been purchased by the Long Island Science Center and will be renovated and expanded with the help of a $775,000 grant from Empire State Development.
The seller is currently removing asbestos from the buildings, Thomas said. When that process is complete, the title closing will take place, she said.
As that’s happening, the town is obtaining a quote from an engineering firm to develop a demolition plan, Thomas said. The town will then go out to bid for the demolition work, which can begin as soon as late spring or early summer, she said.
The town board last August authorized the sale of municipal bonds to fund the acquisitions and demolition work, but Thomas said it may not be necessary for the town to actually sell the bonds, depending on the availability of grant funding.
Empire State Development awarded the town an $800,000 grant for the town square project. Riverhead was able to use $612,000 in Suffolk County water quality funding and $400,000 in Suffolk County Jump Start funding to enter into the contract to purchase the buildings, Aguiar said.
Thomas said the town is applying for two large grants, one from the state and another from the federal government.
Riverhead was a finalist in three out of the four rounds of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant — a $10 million award. Thomas said she feels the town is very well positioned to win the grant this year.
“I think they’re going to be blown away by how far we’ve come during a pandemic,” she said. “Design and demo will be completed and we’ll be letting an RFQ. Then we’ll be looking for a developer.We will be effectively shovel-ready.”
In addition to the state DRI grant, the town will again apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD grant. Last year, Riverhead applied for an $18 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant and was one of 200 “highly recommended projects,” Thomas said, though it did not receive an award. The town will be applying for the BUILD grant again this year. It may seek more than the $18 million sought last year. The maximum is $25 million, Thomas said.
Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking a flood plain management study to address flooding in downtown Riverhead.
“Getting the Army Corps here was critical,” Thomas said. “They way they work and the amount of data they’re collecting is amazing. Part of their report is a marketing study, because they have to look at why this problem needs to be resolved.”
All of the pieces are coming together, Thomas said. “This board is all in,” she said. “That makes all the difference.”
“Despite the obstacles of the 2020 pandemic, the united Riverhead Town Board has made unprecedented progress towards the creation of the Riverhead Town Square, which will be the centerpiece of a fully revitalized, thriving downtown Riverhead,” Aguiar said.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
