Riverhead Town plans to submit a grant application for up to $2 million in funding on behalf of J. Petrocelli Development Associates in connection with the demolition of the building at 127 East Main Street to make way for a proposed mixed use building on the site.
Petrocelli plans to construct on the site a 74-room hotel and 13 condominium units, with restaurants and small retail on the first floor, according to the resolution approved yesterday by the Town Board.
The town will apply for the New York State Empire Development Corporation’s RESTORE New York Communities Initiative Grant Program for the funding and will hold a required public hearing on the grant application on May 7 at 2:05 p.m. at Riverhead Town Hall.
J Petrocelli Development was designated by the Town Board as “master developer” for the Riverhead Town Square project in April 2022. The project described by Joe Petrocelli at the time included a four-story, 84-room hotel with retail shops, a restaurant and the museum space on the ground floor, located on the east side of the town square, as well as a two-story building on the west side of the town square abutting the Long Island Science Center building, a boat house on the river, and a four-story condominium building on the riverfront, located on the western end of the municipal parking lot. The boat house, riverfront condominium building and the building on the west side of the town square are no longer part of the plan, town officials have said.
The Petrocelli proposal was not part of the town’s final funding plan for the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant that it was awarded in January 2022.
A master developer agreement with Petrocelli has not yet been finalized, according to town officials, nor have its terms been publicly discussed.
The town-owned property on which Petrocelli would build the hotel was one of three properties purchased by the town in May 2021. The buildings on the other two properties have since been demolished.
In addition to scheduling a public hearing on the grant application, the resolution approved by the Town Board yesterday also ratified a letter of intent to apply for the grant sent by the town to Empire State Development Corporation on or before March 25 as required by the RESTORE New York Communities funding guidelines.
The grant application to the state is due May 22.
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