Recap: Board discusses FAA, apartment complex

The Town Board discussed a 48-unit apartment building proposed for downtown’s West Main Street at its 10 a.m. public work session Thursday.

News-Review reporter Tim Gannon covered the meeting live. (Click the blog box below.)

Brooklyn-based Tricon Development is in contract to purchase the building that currently houses the Long Island Science Center and replace it with the new five-story apartment complex, according to Martin Sendlewski, the architect for the project.

The Long Island Science Center is hoping to find another location in downtown Riverhead, he said in an interview with the News-Review before Thursday’s meeting started.

The units will each have their own parking space, located underneath the complex, so it will not impact the downtown parking district, Mr. Sendlewski said.

Unlike Summerwind — the 52-unit apartment complex Mr. Sendlewski also is involved with on Peconic Avenue —  the new project would not have a commercial component and be market value, rather than “workforce,”  housing.

The developer is considering having leases and possibly sales of the units, he said, and they hope to complete the project by March 2014.

The board also discussed the possibility of the Calverton Enterprise Park being used by the FAA for a regional air traffic control center, with Supervisor Sean Walter expressing serious reservations about submitted information to the FAA that would allow the agency to decide if it’s interested in the EPCAL site.

The rest of the Town Board disagreed.

The meeting started at 10 a.m.