Riverhead Town, PBMC Foundation enter into contract for sale of Robert Entenmann Campus

Riverhead Town formally entered into a contract to acquire the Robert Entenmann Campus on Second Street from the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation to relocate Riverhead Town Hall, the town announced Wednesday.

PBMC and the town jointly announced the $20 million plan in July.

“Officially entering into contract brings us one step closer to finally realizing the entire Town Board’s goal of establishing a new, modern Town Hall,” Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said in a statement.

PBMC plans to reinvest the funds from the sale into its emergency department expansion, women’s health services and further ambulatory expansion.

The downtown campus had once been home to Suffolk County National Bank. PBMC had used the former bank building, located at 4 West Second St., as its administrative headquarters. 

The transition is expected to begin within three months and will take approximately one year to complete, according to the supervisor’s office.

“We are thrilled to be of assistance to the Town and offer the property for sale,” said Amy Loeb, PBMC’s executive director. “In turn, this new venture will enable us to expand our medical infrastructure and services to the community.”

The space will provide a home for many of Riverhead Town’s departments, from the supervisor’s office, to the building and planning department, town attorney, code enforcement, assessor and more.

Officials previously said the plan would allow the cramped Justice Court to relocate to the current Town Hall building on Howell Avenue. The police department would remain in its current headquarters and would be expanded.

The Town Board in July unanimously approved three resolutions to authorize the acquisition of the property, which includes four buildings.

PBMC plans to move its current operations to the former Mercy junior high school building. In 2020, the PBMC Foundation acquired the former Mercy High School campus, which had been closed since 2018. PBMC recently was granted a special exception from the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals as part of that plan.