Business

Take a tour inside 20 West Main in downtown Riverhead: Video

Developer Georgia Malone celebrated another addition to downtown Riverhead earlier this month: her newly renovated office building at 20 West Main Street.

Offices inside the building, dubbed 20 West Main, are designed to accommodate satellite or start-up companies that don’t require a lot of space. Most range in size from 150 to 400 square feet.

Improvements made to the structure, built in 1913, have added a modern feel while retaining some of its original details.

“I needed to keep the feeling of an older building,” said Ms. Malone, who purchased the building in 2014.

Although the structure needed to be gutted, Ms. Malone felt it was important to preserve its high ceilings, brick walls and as many floors as possible. Everything else about 20 West Main, however, is new. The former home of Allied Optical Plan now contains 12 small offices with red-framed windows, plus second- and third-floor kitchens and a key fob security system. LED motion-sensor lights have also been added.

The ground floor was divided into two open spaces that measure about 1,000 square feet each and have not yet been renovated. Ms. Malone said the areas could be tailored to a tenant’s liking.

Ms. Malone, who also owns the adjacent 30 West Main building, said each structure has its own feel.

“The units in 20 West Main are larger,” she explained. “I also wanted to provide something light and airy and it’s also very private because it’s smaller, so we attract a different type of tenant.”

(Credit: Krysten Massa)
A currently unoccupied office space on the third floor of 20 West Main. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

The building is decorated in warm colors, with modern artwork and photography scattered across the second and third floors. Current tenants include a not-for-profit, start-up company, attorney and tidal company.

On the second floor, there is a shared conference room with a TV; each floor has its own kitchen, lounge area and bathrooms. Ms. Malone said it was also important to her to make the entire building handicapped accessible, so she added an elevator and wide bathrooms.

About 8 units remain available for rent at 20 West Main, including a larger office on the third floor that overlooks a garden. It features a kitchen, couch, TV, its own temperature controls and a bathroom with a shower.

Location is what drew Ms. Malone to the buildings.

“The location is the best location in Riverhead,” she said, adding that she likes the way people have clear views of both her properties as they drive down Peconic Avenue.

(Credit: Krysten Massa)
A larger office with its own kitchen and bathroom on the building’s third floor. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

She also said she thinks the new 20 West Main and 30 West Main fit in well with the downtown business community.

“I like contributing to Riverhead,” she said, adding that she likes the buzz of activity downtown and thinks the town is pro-business because of the tax abatements she received. “I like the community feel here.”

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(Credit: Krysten Massa)
A shared conference room on the second floor. (Credit: Krysten Massa)