The developer proposing a five-story mixed-use building on the corner of Osborn Avenue and Court Street is asking the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency for a 10-year real property tax abatement, as well as mortgage tax and sales/use tax exemptions in connection with its $19.6 million project.
The IDA board will hold a public hearing on the developer’s benefits application Monday at 5 p.m. at Riverhead Town Hall.
The proposed project includes 37 market-rate rental apartments on four stories above ground-floor office uses, as well as on-site surface parking on the approximately one-half acre site. The 41,867-square-foot, 50-foot-tall building would provide 24 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom and three studio units and a rooftop patio for building residents.
Developer G2D Construction Corp. of Huntington says in its application for IDA benefits that the project would “not be financially feasible” without IDA assistance. The applicant successfully obtained benefits from the IDA last year for a four-story market-rate apartment building at 331 East Main Street, which is currently under construction.
The applicant is seeking an estimated $117,562 mortgage tax exemption on a $15.7 million 10-year mortgage and an estimated $702,294 state and local sales and use tax exemption on approximately $8.1 million in costs of goods and services subject to those taxes.
The applicant is also requesting a 10-year enhanced real property tax abatement. Details of the enhanced abatement benefit and terms of a proposed payment in lieu of taxes agreement were not included in the application posted on the Riverhead IDA website.
The application says the building would drive an estimated household and employee spending of $34 million in Riverhead over 20 years.
The developer would demolish an existing long-vacant and blighted building on the site to make way for the new development.
The project is the first proposed under the Railroad Avenue Urban Renewal Area Overlay District, adopted at the beginning of this year to entice developers to the area. The overlay district provides increased development density and a wider variety of uses in the area around the Riverhead railroad station and county court facilities. The overlay district is available to property owners in the town’s DC-3 zoning use district, if their properties meet certain minimum sizes.
The town is working to revitalize the railroad station area with transit-oriented development, including pursuing grant funding to build a multistory mixed use development including a parking garage on a town-owned parking lot located across the street from the proposed building at 205 Osborn Avenue.
A public hearing on G2D’s site plan application will be held by the Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday afternoon, beginning at 2:05 p.m. The town board in September assumed lead agency for purposes of environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and, determining that the project would not have significant impacts that require mitigation, issued a negative declaration under SEQRA, dispensing with further environmental review.
The Zoning Board of Appeals in September granted six of nine variances sought by the developer, including requests for reduced front, side and rear yard setbacks, a reduced vegetative buffer and changes to the types of plantings required for parking areas.
The ZBA conditioned its approvals on a “step back” of the fifth floor of the building to reduce its “bulk,” as recommended by the Suffolk County Planning Commission in an Aug. 6 letter to the ZBA. Specifics of the “step back” and building design are in the purview of the town board, which has jurisdiction over site plan applications in the urban renewal area.
The proposal has met with opposition from nearby property owners, including the Riverhead library and the the Suffolk County Historical Society, as well as some residents. Concerns expressed included potential impacts on traffic in the area, which includes an intersection (Court Street, West Main Street and Center Drive) which a previous town traffic study identified as dysfunctional. Other concerns included impacts on parking in the area, impacts on the character of the neighborhood due to the size and scale of the proposed building, and impacts during construction.
Members of the town board have so far reacted favorably to the proposal.
Councilman Tim Hubbard thanked the applicant for being willing to invest in the area. ““This is the first piece of the puzzle for the TOD,” Councilman Tim Hubbard said at the Sept. 21 town board meeting. “It’s very important. I’m glad that somebody elected to develop this property,” Hubbard said.
“This is a great step in terms of getting investment in that area,” Councilman Ken Rothwell said before voting on the SEQRA resolution that night.
Supervisor Yvette Aguiar concurred. She said the proposal is “solid progress” in an area in need of revitalization.
“They are moderately priced apartments. This is for the youth, the single professionals, the elderly who may not be able to afford or want a big home and just want to be nearby and that’s the purpose,” Aguiar said before her vote.
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.
