Groundbreaking at new Riverhead Town Square planned for summer 2025
After six months of preparation, design and funding efforts, Riverhead town officials anticipate an official groundbreaking for the long-awaited Town Square project this summer.
The project has six components: the upper and lower Town Square, the amphitheater, “complete streets,” a boutique hotel and a parking garage. This downtown revitalization initiative is possible thanks to multiple funding grants the town has obtained over the years, including a $24 million federal grant that complements a $10 million state grant secured two years ago.
Securing sufficient funding requires completing design proposals, a complicated process that involves engineering reports, grant management, coordination throughout multiple departments and public input, said Dawn Thomas, director of Riverhead’s Community Development Agency.
In the coming months, master development agreements and sales of town-owned property needed for the project will be finalized, and all the necessary approvals and permits will be secured — including demolishing the building now occupied by Craft’d to make way for the hotel. Groundbreaking for the Town Square and playground is projected to start next August and September.
“I think we’re getting very close — we’re pretty excited,” Ms. Thomas said. “The vision was communicated through the grant applications that we wrote, the grant applications generated the funding — and I think they will continue to do so. As we build this, the more we make reality out of the dream, the more people are likely to fund it because they can see that we can convert an idea to reality.”
At a Nov. 14 Town Board work session, Ms. Thomas provided updates on each aspect on the plan, where specific funding will be allocated and a projected timeline. The upper Town Square — the grassy area between the old Long Island Science Center building and the Craft’d building, across from The Suffolk — is “overfunded” right now, Ms. Thomas said.
With the $3.24 million Downtown Revitalization grant, a $360,000 private match from J. Petrocelli Development — the project’s master developer— and $400,000 from Suffolk County Jumpstart, the town has a total of $4 million for the upper Town Square. The cost for this portion of the project itself is roughly $2.3 million.
The lower Town Square will be transformed into a public gathering space that includes a proposed playground and splashpad. Ms. Thomas said the town is about a million dollars short on funding for the $2.96 million playground, but if the state approves it, extra money can be moved from the upper Town Square funding to cover that cost. Any other expected grants coming in will also be used.
Through DRI grants, Suffolk County may fund the splash pad in full, Ms. Thomas said, but that is not a guarantee yet. She said there have been discussions about accepting private donations for the playground equipment, as well as conversations with National Grid.
The amphitheater has received the least funding of all project components and is about $4.4 million short. So far, $350,000 has been accumulated, but Ms. Thomas mentioned a pending $3 million grant application from Empire State Development’s Pro-Housing Communities program that, if successful, would contribute to that shortfall.
Construction of the amphitheater itself would cost somewhere between $2 million and $2.8 million; however, this does not factor in the $2 million needed to lift the existing East End Arts buildings and change the property’s grading to protect the campus from flooding. East End Arts would need to find a temporary home during this construction, which has not been confirmed yet.
Town officials discussed the idea of allowing Petrocelli to stage its construction of a 28-unit apartment building — part of a separate project — and boutique hotel on the East End Arts property once it is relocated. Ms. Thomas confirmed that this could generate roughly $600,000 to be used towards the amphitheater.
“The way these projects are designed, they stand alone,” Ms. Thomas said. “They do not need to be all done at once, so that can wait a little bit until we have all the funding for it.”
Through a $750,000 DRI grant and part of the $10 million RAISE grant, the town plans to spend $3.4 million on Main Street streetscapes to create a safer, pedestrian-friendly downtown. Ms. Thomas said the design is completed and is in permitting with the state transportation department, since Route 25 is a state-owned roadway.
The goal is to mimic the reconstruction of Main Street in Westhampton Beach, which would entail widening the sidewalks, narrowing the street, improving crosswalks, lighting and landscaping.
“What they did in Westhampton is incredible because you can cross the street there without fear of taking your life in your hands,” Supervisor Tim Hubbard said at the work session.
Petrocelli’s boutique hotel design is close to completed and the total cost is $30 million — most of the funding come from the developer. Demolition of the Craft’d building can be done with the $1 million state Restore grant and is anticipated to begin next summer.
As far as other items on the timeline, Ms. Thomas said the master development agreement will be completed by the end of this month and a Qualified and Eligible Sponsor hearing for Petrocelli will follow. If this is successful, Ms. Thomas said the agreement can be signed by next month.
The goal is to complete site plans and received SEQRA approvals and all needed permits for the hotel, Town Square and playground by May 2025. The sale of town-owned property to the master developer could be completed as early as June 2025 and Ms. Thomas said public outreach will take place before any construction takes place in the summer.
“It’s a team effort, that’s what makes it work,” Ms. Thomas said. “I used to dream that we would win the $10 million grant and think, how would I react? I can’t even believe that could happen — and now, I think of the ribbon-cutting. These are the things that drive us forward.”
