Suffolk Life building torn down in Riverhead
Demolition has begun on the old Suffolk Life building on Route 58.
The landmark, if not aesthetically pleasing, building started coming down this week, back part first, in order to make room for a new Lowe’s home improvement store.
A Lowe’s spokesman said the demolition work should be done by the end of the month, and that the new store would be completed by end end of this year.
The past few months were spent removing asbestos from the massive structure. The Lowe’s company plans to take down the entire building and replace it with a new 103,000-square-foot store. A new traffic light on Route 58 — lining up with the eastermost entrance to the Riverhead Centre shopping complex across the street — is also planned once the store opens.
Riverhead Town officials say that if Lowe’s can completely remove the entire building by March 1, which is the taxable status date, the company would pay less taxes next year because the property would be assessed without a structure.
