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Shops, restaurant proposed for former Rolle Brothers site

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | The Rolle Brothers building that fronted Route 58 in Riverhead just days before it was torn down in February 2010.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | The Rolle Brothers building that fronted Route 58 in Riverhead, just days before the landmark structure was torn down in February 2010.

A restaurant and retail uses are being proposed for the site of the former Rolle Brothers farm machinery store on Route 58 in Riverhead.

Richmond Realty of Riverhead, which bought the 6-acre site two years ago and demolished the property’s vacant buildings in early 2010, has submitted a site plan application that seeks to build a total of 38,400 square feet of development in four buildings on the site.

The proposal, filed under the name Riverhead Commons, calls for construction of an 8,000-square-foot restaurant on the eastern portion of the property and three retail buildings measuring 21,900-, 6,000- and 2,500-square-feet.

The smallest of the retail buildings is slated for the southern portion of the property, closest to Route 58.

No specific tenant names are mentioned in the application.

The land to the east and north of the site is vacant and owned by Suffolk County. The property borders a car dealership to the west.

The landmark Rolle Brothers buildings existed at that site for more than 50 years before closing several years ago. The property was sold to a company called 372 Jericho Corp, which sold it to Exxon Mobil in 2003.  Exxon Mobil sought to build a gas station and convenience store there in 2004, but the town planning board urged the Town Board to reject the proposal, claiming there already were too many gas stations in the area, and the application eventually was dropped.

Exxon Mobil sold the land to Richmond Realty in 2009.

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