Packed meeting on Ronkonkoma hub plan

In a sign of the development community's embrace of the proposed Ronkonkoma train hub project, about 30 developer representatives packed into a presentation Monday about the station's proposed overhaul.

"It's got a really strong pulse and there's a really strong promise to this," said architect Michael Mannetta, senior partner of Woodbury-based Spector Group. "It's healthy."

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko said the turnout at the Town Hall presentation was heartening. "We're extremely encouraged," he said. "We will get some extremely creative proposals."

The town wants to update and improve the Ronkonkoma train station, which serves 14,000 Long Island Rail Road riders daily, through mixed-use development of retail and residential properties at the station and on 50 surrounding acres.

The presentation by town Planning Commissioner Tullio Bertoli discussed the site's logistics and the town's goals for redevelopment, which meeting documents described as "a diverse mix of business, commercial, office, residential, institutional, and entertainment uses for workers, visitors, and residents."

The town is asking developers to formally submit expressions of interest by the end of June.

"It's very much an exciting opportunity," said Kevin McAndrew, a partner of Cameron Engineering & Associates of Woodbury. He pointed to the number of people at the presentation as evidence of the project's potential.

"Just looking around the room this morning, seeing all the people there, was a reflection of the importance of the project," McAndrew said.

The town has been "pro-development," a welcome sign for companies, Mannetta said.

He highlighted two major Spector Group projects -- the Lighthouse project in Hempstead and the redevelopment of downtown Riverhead -- as examples of high-profile work he said were stalled by bureaucratic delays.

By contrast, he said, the Ronkonkoma station project seems to have many necessary ingredients: support from the nearby neighborhoods, an active administration, and enthusiasm from the development community.

"They've plowed the road for this to happen," Mannetta said.