G2D Group

A long-vacant eyesore in downtown Riverhead was demolished today to make way for a five-story mixed use building at the corner of Osborn Avenue and Court Street.

A proposed five-story, 37-unit apartment building on Osborn Avenue and Court Street drew criticism from Riverhead Free Library, Riverhead Central School District and others at a town board public hearing Tuesday.

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 proposed five-story, mixed-use building on the corner of Osborn Avenue and Court Street does not require additional environmental review because it will not have significant adverse impacts, the town board determined last night. The plan can now move forward in the approval process.

Nine zoning variances sought by a Huntington developer for a proposed five-story building on the corner of Osborn Avenue and Court Street drew opposition from Riverhead Free Library, Suffolk County Historical Society and several residents during a public hearing before the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals Thursday night.

The multimillion-dollar development proposal, by far the biggest private investment in a blighted area the town has struggled to revitalize for decades, is the first major project to come before the town board under the Railroad Avenue Overlay District adopted by the board in January.