Riverhead is passed over for federal DOT grant, where it sought $34 million for downtown projects, including parking structures

The Town of Riverhead was passed over for a U.S. Department of Transportation grant it sought to help fund two parking structures downtown, flood resilience on the Peconic riverfront and other projects.

The town applied for $34.3 million in total for five projects connected to its revitalization efforts for Downtown Riveread. It applied for $4.75 million for a public parking garage on the First Street parking lot, $10.95 million for a public parking garage on Griffing Avenue, $14.2 million for flood resiliency on the riverfront, $1.9 million for the town square, and $2.4 million for streetscape improvements on Main Street and Griffing Avenue.

This is the third time the town has applied for the federal program, known as the RAISE (Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant. One-hundred, sixty-six projects were awarded $2.2 billion in funding this year. The USDOT announced the winners in the program Thursday.

“Every year we do better and our projects are tighter and more formed,” Community Development Director Dawn Thomas said. “You know, it took us five times to get the [Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant]. So, we don’t view it as a failure,” she said about not getting the RAISE grant. “It’s just a step in the direction that we need to go in and eventually we’ll get it.”

The only community on Long Island to win a grant from the program this year was the Shinnecock Indian Nation of Southampton, which received $1.1 million for roadway infrastructure planning and design services.

The town submitted a comprehensive application in April that took months to complete, Thomas said. Material submitted with the application included a cost-benefit analysis from the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy and dozens of letters of support, including from Senator Chuck Schumer, the Long Island Rail Road and the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council.

The application recounts the downtown revitalization efforts being planned within the town, including the town square and transit-oriented development projects, both of which the Town Board has designated master developers for and is in the process of drafting public-private partnership agreements. At the time of submission, the Town Board had designated RXR/Georgica Green Ventures as master developer of a transit-oriented development project near Riverhead’s Long Island Rail Road Station, but had not yet designated J. Petrocelli Development Associates as master developer of the new town square project.

The grant narrative emphasized the primary goal of the town’s project is to “reclaim the Peconic riverfront” by relocating the public parking fronted on the river to a new parking structure. Parts of the town square project would be built on a current municipal parking lot on the riverfront. A condo building is proposed on a parking lot west of the town square site by J. Petrocelli Development Associates.

The application states a parking structure would be constructed on the First Street lot, providing either 350 or 450 spaces. The application give both numbers in different places. A site diagram submitted with the application shows the structure being three-stories and having 350 spaces. A possible new two-story 40,000-square-foot development is also pictured next to the garage in the diagram. 

The other parking structure referenced in the application is located within a mixed-use building proposed by RXR/Georgica Green Ventures on a Suffolk County-owned parking lot on Griffing Avenue near the railroad station. The application lists the structure as having 521 spaces. Since the application was submitted, the proposal has changed to 333 public parking spaces to add additional apartments to the building. 

The largest funding ask in the application was for flood resilience. The riverfront has continued to experience tidal and storm surge flooding that will only be made worse due to sea level rise caused by climate change. The town emphasized in its application that these safety issues threaten development and revitalization in the area. 

“If the Town is unable to implement necessary infrastructure improvements which will correct the flooding that plagues the downtown riverfront area, it will be difficult to effectively revitalize and improve access to its amenities and most importantly improve safety, quality of life, accessibility, equity and environmental justice objectives,” the application states.

The town would implement recommendations for flood resilience outlined in the Army Corps of Engineers flood plain management study commissioned by the town, the application states.

The town also applied for funds to establish new pedestrian and bicycle pathways, improved crosswalks and lighting, and unified signage themes.

Since submitting the application, the Town Board has hired consultants to look further at projects downtown and assess parking structures proposed in the area. It hired Urban Design Associates to develop a “Riverfront Activation Plan,” which will make recommendations on current development proposals and develop an “open space framework” for the riverfront area. It hired Sam Schwartz Consulting to update the strategic parking plan it developed in 2019-2020. 

[See prior coverage: As Riverhead’s downtown revitalization plans take shape, town hires consultants to write a ‘riverfront activation’ plan and update its parking plan]

A local planning committee also finalized a list of 10 projects it believes should be funded through the $10 million downtown revitalization grant award, including elements of the town square, coastal resiliency projects connected to the town square, the Griffing Avenue parking structure, and Main Street pedestrian enhancements. Results of which projects will be funded by the award are expected to be announced by New York State in late September or early October.

According to the USDOT, 50% of RAISE grant funding is designated for projects in rural areas, and 50% of the funding is designated for projects in urban areas.

Nearly two-thirds of projects are located in areas of persistent poverty or historically disadvantaged communities. The largest grant award is $25 million and no more than $341.25 million could be awarded to a single state in this funding round, according to the USDOT.

“We are proud to support so many outstanding infrastructure projects in communities large and small, modernizing America’s transportation systems to make them safer, more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we are supporting more projects than ever before.”