New four-story apartment plan filed for downtown Riverhead; existing building would be demolished
A special permit application has been filed seeking to demolish the East Main Street building that once house a Subway sandwich shop and replace it with apartments.
The application was filed last week by 331 East Main Street LLC, based out of Huntington. The applicant has the same address as G2D Development.
The property is owned by Phil and Eileen Hancock of Riverhead and currently has two retail buildings with four apartments on the upper floor. Mr. Hancock has said he plans to sell the property to the developers.
The proposal calls for the existing buildings to be demolished and replaced with a four-story residential apartment building with associated improvements, according to the application.
The property is zoned Downtown Center-1, which allows apartments on the upper floors of retail buildings, with a maximum of five stories.
However, the town also has a 500-unit limit for such apartments, and a number of other proposals for apartments in the DC-1 zone.
The application doesn’t indicate how many units are proposed, but the proposal was briefly discussed at a Riverhead Industrial Development Agency meeting in February, where officials said it called for 35 units of market-rate housing.
At the time, officials said G2D Development was planning to make a presentation to the IDA, which grants tax incentives and other benefits aimed at luring companies to town. However, they have yet to appear at an IDA meeting.
Representatives for the applicant could not be reached for comment this week.
Downtown Riverhead already has the 52-unit Summerwind Square apartments, the 19-unit Woolworth Apartments and the 45-unit Peconic Crossing apartments, which are all built and operating.
Still under construction is the 116-unit Riverview Lofts on McDermott Avenue and East Main Street.
And in the proposal stages, but not yet approved are a 177-unit complex immediately west of Riverview Lofts, and multi-floor apartment buildings planned for the rear of the Suffolk Theater property (28 units) and the east side of McDermott Avenue (nine units).
Caption: The former Subway building in downtown Riverhead, which would be demolished under the plan. (Credit: Tim Gannon)
