The Petrocelli hotel plan got a warm reception from members of the Riverhead Town Board Thursday and is headed for a public hearing next month on the site plan and special permit application.
Officials reviewed the proposed 94-room downtown hotel from town square master developer J. Petrocelli Riverhead Town Square, a limited liability company whose managing members are Joe and John Petrocelli.
Joe Petrocelli and other representatives of representatives of the development company presented plans for the five-story hotel proposed for 117–127 E. Main St., adjacent to the planned town square and East End Arts campus, during the Town Board’s morning work session.
The revised proposal increases the hotel room count from 76 to 94 rooms while removing the previously planned 12 condominiums. The fifth floor will now be built out as 14 suites with balconies or terraces instead of the condominium dwelling units, VHB environmental planner Christiana Kastalek told the board.
Kastalek said the commercial component remains generally similar to what was previously analyzed during the town’s downtown revitalization environmental review process and said the revised project remains consistent with the town’s prior environmental findings.
The proposal calls for construction of a 69,738-square-foot mixed-use building on an approximately half-acre site. The building will contain:
• a 116-seat restaurant with bar and outdoor terrace,
• a coffee shop,
• nearly 2,900 square feet of retail space,
• hotel lounge and fitness facilities,
• and 94 guest rooms, including 14 suites. Developer Joe Petrocelli described the project as critical to maintaining momentum for the broader downtown redevelopment effort.
See more drawings, plans and reports here.
Petrocelli said the proposed hotel would operate under Hilton’s “Tapestry” boutique brand.
He recounted some of his history with downtown, dating back to 1999, when his family’s company answered an RFP for an “economic generator” that downtown Riverhead “needed so badly,” he recalled.
Petrocelli Construction built the aquarium as the economic generator, followed by the adjoining Sea Star Ballroom and Hyatt Place hotel on East Main Street. It also renovated and upgraded the marina adjoining the Hyatt and the former clubhouse at the marina, which now houses Jerry and the Mermaid restaurant.
Petrocelli’s own company rehabilitated and renovated two historic homes on East Main Street opposite the aquarium. One became the Preston House, a boutique hotel and the other, the Howell House, was opened as a spa.
Petrocelli also rehabilitated and renovated the East Lawn building on East Main Street.
Council Member Joann Waski thanked Petrocelli for investing in downtown Riverhead. “You’re not a developer that just came in, built something and went away. You’ve been invested. You’re here, and I appreciate that,” Waski said.
Petrocelli urged the town to keep the momentum going.
“We’re at a point right now where if we don’t keep going, it’s never going to happen. We’re never going to turn this town around,” said Petrocelli, who has completed a number of projects in Riverhead, with a focus on the downtown district.
Attorney Eric Russo told the board that the proposed hotel meets the town’s special permit requirements and fully complies with the zoning code’s criteria, including, besides special permit criteria, limits on lot coverage, impervious surfaces, floor-area ratio, and building height. The proposal does not require any variances, Russo said.
“We are very anxious to get started and get a shovel in the ground,” Russo said.
Parking and traffic operations emerged as one of the central discussion points during the nearly hour-long presentation.
The project is located within the parking district and is not required to provide off-street parking. Plans include nine on-site parking spaces, all intended for hotel staff. Guest parking would rely primarily on valet operations using spaces behind the Suffolk Theater and, eventually, the planned First Street public parking garage, once it is completed.
Riverhead environmental consultant Jeff Seeman said he had only “minor questions” regarding valet operations and traffic flow, particularly involving eastbound and westbound traffic movements along Main Street.
Council Member Ken Rothwell pressed the project team for more detail about how valet operations would function in practice and requested additional drawings showing vehicle circulation and drop-off operations.
“I’d like to see more of a detailed site drawing of just where cars are going in and out,” Rothwell said.
Senior Planner Matt Charters said the streetscape design currently under development would include curbside pull-off areas capable of accommodating multiple vehicles outside the hotel entrance.
The project architect, Andrew Giambertone, said the hotel would feature a covered marquee entrance where guests would be greeted by valet attendants before vehicles are moved to off-site parking areas.
Petrocelli said guests would also have the option of self-parking behind the Suffolk Theater.
Town officials repeatedly emphasized the project’s role in activating downtown and increasing foot traffic to Main Street businesses and cultural venues.
Waski said visitors currently park at the aquarium, spend several hours there and then leave town without visiting downtown businesses.
“Downtown needs to be activated,” Waski said. “Bringing a project like yours into the mix here helps everybody.”
Petrocelli similarly said Riverhead needs additional attractions to sustain tourism and support local restaurants.
“The attendance for the aquarium is gradually leveled out,” Petrocelli said. “We need another spark in order to get everybody going.”
Infrastructure capacity — particularly sewer and water service — was also discussed during the presentation.
Consultants said the revised hotel project remains within the wastewater and water demand assumptions previously analyzed during the town’s downtown revitalization SEQRA review.
Seeman said the original environmental review conservatively projected approximately 35,000 gallons per day of water and wastewater flow for the site area.
The revised hotel project, he said, would utilize roughly half that amount and therefore remains consistent with the town’s prior environmental findings.
Town officials and consultants also highlighted the project’s flood mitigation features, which they described as central to the overall downtown revitalization strategy.
The hotel and town square plans include elevated grades, stormwater collection infrastructure and drainage systems intended to reduce flooding impacts in the downtown riverfront area.
The Town Board is expected to schedule formal public hearings on the hotel site plan and special permit applications for June 10.
Project representatives said they are also seeking a foundation permit to allow construction work to begin as soon as approvals are obtained.
“We’re ready to go,” Petrocelli told the board.
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