County looks to preserve 150 acres in Calverton
The Long Island Beagle Club property on Edwards Avenue in Calverton could be the next big parcel of land Suffolk County plans to preserve as open space following a July 21 public hearing on the plan.
The county Department of Environment and Energy is proposing to purchase the 150-acre property using money from the Drinking Water Protection Program, which is funded through a voter-approved quarter cent sales tax.
The hearing will be held at the office of the Department of Environment and Energy’s Division of Real Property Acquisition and Management, which is located on the second floor of the Dennison Building on Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge. It is scheduled for 10 a.m.
The Long Island Beagle Club was founded in 1932 and was used to train beagles for hunting. In 2006, a developer was under contract to buy the land and build 73 clustered residential lots on the property. That proposal later fell through and the county took steps toward acquiring the site.
Some residents of the nearby Village Green subdivision had urged that the site be acquired as open space.
County Legislature Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), who introduced the planning steps resolution, said the proposal calls for the county to acquire the property and for Riverhead Town to manage it once purchased.
Reached Wednesday, Mr. Romaine said he did not know the proposed acquisition price. The News-Review left a message with representatives of Suffolk County Executve Steve Levy seeking that information, though that call was not immediately returned.
Town officials say the property has three buildings on it, along with several walking trails. It is located adjacent to land already preserved by the county.
The property is listed on the private real estate web site, Loopnet.com, at a selling price of $18 million. It says the property “features level to gentling rolling topography” and “is suitable for a winery, golf course, horse farm, agriculture, or residential site.”
