New entrance, welcome center in works at Riverhead Library

A new entrance is being built at the front of the Riverhead Library at the intersection of West Main and Court Streets, in yet another step to make downtown Riverhead more walkable. Once completed, visitors will enter under a steel pergola with an open trellis above that sits atop four brick pillars. The trellis matches the ones currently on the library wall. Visitors can travel up a winding walkway bringing them to the new vestibule, or continue along the new concrete paver path, which wraps around the east side of the building and leads to the main entrance and parking lot.

Arthur Rast remembers visiting the library as a kid, and now the firm he works for as an architect, Sendlewski Architects P.C. on Roanoke Avenue, is building the new entrance. 

“We’re a local firm and we’ve done several projects for the library, some of which have been pro bono, and everyone in the firm grew up in Riverhead, so we consider this a personal project,” he said. 

Mr. Rast predicted with new housing nearby, the second entrance will be a draw to bring more people into the library. New landscaping will go up along the walkway to freshen up the current aesthetic. At the new entrance there will be an additional circulation desk area to supplement the primary one at the main entrance. “There will also be a new set of automatic sliding doors for the new entrance vestibule,” he said.

“When you come to the library from Center Drive and see the front of the library, people think — where is the entrance?” said Kerri McMullen-Smith, Director of the Riverhead Library. “We do have a sign there, but now we’ll have a new entrance with a welcome center that will tell people about all the goings-on at the library and in town.” She estimates the construction project, which broke ground in October, will be finished by the end of the year. 

The $215K grant for the project is part of a $10 million grant Riverhead Town received from New York State as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI).

“It’s such a pretty building in the front, and you’ll soon be able to walk there if you live nearby as opposed to getting in the car. A lot of foot traffic is being generated throughout downtown because of the grant,” said Dawn Thomas, director of Community Development for the town. 

The project may wind up costing about $430K; the library’s capital improvement fund will provide the remainder of the funding according to Ms. McMullen-Smith. 

“It is not an expensive project and it will have a big impact on bringing in more people,” Ms. Thomas said. “The new entrance is prominently located, and it’s good advertising of the library’s programs.”