Riverhead to examine documents submitted by group seeking to buy property at EPCAL

The entrance to the Town of Riverhead's Enterprise Park at Calverton, on the site of the former Grumman plant off Route 25, as seen in 2016. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Riverhead officials said they will evaluate several financial documents provided recently by the venture group seeking to spend $40 million to buy roughly 1,600 acres of land at Enterprise Park at Calverton before deciding how to proceed with the next stage of the pending land sale.
In late April, the town asked the venture group to voluntarily provide financial updates on the deal. On May 19, Calverton Aviation and Technology, which is looking to purchase land at the EPCAL property to expand operations for minority partner Luminati Aerospace LLC, provided the town a letter of interest from Manhattan-based private bridge lender Midnight Capital LLC for an industrial construction loan that would pay for 1 million square feet of industrial development at the property.
The group also provided a letter from Arieli Capital, a holding and investment company with offices in Manhattan. The company expressed its interest in assisting the venture group in “identifying and attracting prospective businesses to establish local presence at the CAT Hub at EPCAL,” according to the letter which is available on the town’s website.
Christopher Kent, the Riverhead-based attorney representing Calverton Aviation and Technology, sent Riverhead a letter dated May 26 stating that despite a deadline passing related to the town filing a subdivision map with the state, the venture group has waived their right to terminate the deal for at least a year.
Kent’s letter further stated the group is "ready, willing and able to close upon the acquisition of the property" and asked the town to keep moving forward with the deal.
“Over twenty years ago, the town was given an opportunity when the federal government granted the property to the town for economic development and job creation to replace what was lost when Grumman left the site. The actions taken by the town over those twenty years and many administrations has brought EPCAL to this point. The time to capitalize on the gift is now," Kent stated.
The town board was slated to discuss the documents in a closed executive session May 28 following their work session.
Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said Wednesday that the town board had to review the documents first before deciding how to proceed.
“We have to evaluate these documents and work together as a board to address moving forward,” Aguiar said.
The subdivision map for the property and related documents requested by the state Department of Environmental Conservation have been submitted and the town is now waiting for the agency’s decision on whether to approve the map, Aguiar said.
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