The Riverhead Town Board is holding a special meeting this Tuesday, July 22 at 6 p.m. to hold a “Qualified & Eligible Hearing” to examine the qualifications of its chosen developer for its Town Square project, J. Petrocelli Contracting.
Pictured Above: J. Petrocelli’s latest rendering of the entrance to the Town Square, prepared by Urban Design Associates, with the proposed five story building on the left side of the entrance to the square.
Petrocelli, which was picked to be the town’s Master Developer for the Town Square in April of 2022, has been involved in downtown Riverhead for more than 25 years, building the Long Island Aquarium and the Seastar Ballroom, as well as the Hyatt Place Hotel, a marina and the Preston House boutique hotel.
The company has been working with the town on the demolition of the buildings that had stood where the Town Square is being built, and is proposing to construct a mixed-use, five-story building with up to 76 hotel rooms and 12 condominium units, with restaurant and retail space and underground parking known as the “Town Square Hotel Project.”
Under the terms of the Master Developer contract, the company would pay $2.65 million for the town-owned property at 127 East Main Street, on which it plans to build the hotel, along with portions of other lots on which the hotel would be built. Lot lines would be modified, at the Master Developer’s expense, to create a single lot for that project.
That building would be on the site currently occupied by a building owned by Riverhead Town that now houses Craft’d, a bar whose lease the town is in the process of terminating, and would be adjacent to the Town Square.
The Town Board voted unanimously at its May 21 meeting to begin the process of condemnation of Craft’d’s lease.
Several people spoke against the condemnation, including Sean Kenna, a co-owner of Craft’d.
“There’s a hotel going up, with retail and restaurant in the front, and that used to include Craft’D,” he added. “I was told we’re not going to be in there because they have their own restaurant.”
Resident John McAuliff said he is also concerned that the town is considering a five-story building there.
“Imagine what a difference it would be for the Town Square if it was flanked at both ends by two-story buildings,” he said.
In addition to the hotel, J. Petrocelli is slated to be the Construction Manager for the rest of the Town Square project, which includes a playground and amphitheater, and the elevation of the properties out of the floodplain, a project that will include raising the town-owned East End Arts campus directly to the east of the proposed hotel.
According to the town’s proposed contract, the master developer would be paid $150,000 per year for the next ten years to maintain and operate the Town Square.
The town has received a significant amount of grant funding for the project, including a $10 million New York State Downtown Revitalization Grant and a $25 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant.
The meeting this Tuesday will be a public hearing, at which residents can question the documents provided by the company in its bid to be the “qualified and eligible sponsor” for the sale and redevelopment” of a portion of the property.
The proposed contract is online here. The public hearing will be held on the Town Hall Meeting Room at 4 West Second Street.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post included an earlier rendering of the hotel project. The latest rendering is now shown.
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