165-unit Riverhead apartment project gets tax breaks
The Riverhead Industrial Development Agency granted a number of tax incentives for a proposed 165-unit apartment complex at its April 8 meeting.
The proposal has already received preliminary site plan approval from the Town Board,,according to Riverhead Town head planner Greg Bergman.
The application, called 203 Riverhead LLC, involves the vacant former Sears site in downtown Riverhead and calls for 238,342 square feet of construction for a five-story building with parking and retail on the ground level. The residential building will house approximately 52 studio units, 80 one-bedroom units, and 33 two-bedroom units. The property abuts East End Arts on the east and the Riverview Lofts apartments on the west. The project is proposed to be a market rate development and includes no workforce or affordable housing units.
IDA chairman Jim Farley said, “We were very focused on what we thought was a crucial downtown revitalization project.”
If approved, 203 Riverhead LLC would be the largest apartment complex proposed in Riverhead to date, although several more large residential projects are planned.
The IDA granted the applicant, a group led by Heatherwood Luxury Rentals of Commack, sales tax abatements on purchases affiliated with the job, as well as financial assistance on mortgage recording and real property taxes.
The applicant also was granted a 16-year payment in lieu of taxes deal that starts at $22,558 for the 2024-25 tax year and increases gradually up to $270,000 in the 16th and final year.
No one from the public spoke at the April 8 hearing. The proposal goes back about six years and has had several public hearings during that time, often eliciting mixed reaction.
