Downtown revitalization

Riverhead has looked to the arts as an impetus for downtown revitalization off and on since the 1990s. Will the arts be the spark-plug that jump-starts revitalization this time around?

Riverhead officials are looking to move forward with a parking plan proposed by the parking district advisory committee five years ago that would add about 60 downtown parking spaces by reconfiguring and re-striping surface parking.

Downtown Riverhead and the Enterprise Park at Calverton are among the locations recommended by New York State for designation as “opportunity zones” by the U.S. treasury department.

The designation could mean access to significant private investment needed for infrastructure improvements, such as sewage treatment capability, that will allow the revitalization of the historically depressed hamlet of Riverside.

The funding will be used to help demolish and reconstruct two vacant buildings: the former diner on the traffic circle and the former Peconic Paddler site on Peconic Avenue.

Two more apartment proposals now under review would essentially double the number of apartments already built or under construction on Main Street. The two new projects would require 293 parking spaces, which downtown cannot absorb, according to the town's head planner, who urged the board to act on a proposed code change requiring developers to provide on-site parking.

Lifelong Calverton resident Jason Perez, a 2000 Riverhead High School graduate who started his own landscaping company while still a college student in 2002, has turned his focus to convincing property owners that organic lawn care can give them the lush green lawn they crave — and it will even produce a healthier, more resilient turf.

L.I. Aquarium owner Joseph Petrocelli snipped a red ribbon to celebrate the opening of the Preston House restaurant and hotel last night.

A group of downtown property owners and local businesses have teamed up with the Riverhead BID Management Association to beautify Main Street. Their biggest target: the large vacant buildings that blight the Main Street landscape.

A dispute over an area of land behind the Suffolk Theater threatens the theater’s continued existence, according to theater owner Bob Castaldi.