Suffolk County formally seeks new developer for Ronkonkoma Hub

Suffolk County has launched a long awaited search for developers to revamp county land between Long Island MacArthur Airport and the Ronkonkoma train station, a property formerly eyed for the scuttled Midway Crossing project.

The 36-page document, posted on the county's online development portal Thursday, asks developers to consider "a mix of office, health care/hospital, life science, retail, food and beverage, hospitality, and industrial/manufacturing uses." That includes "community amenities" and space for a possible connection between the airport and train station.

Posting the document officially starts a monthslong effort in search of both a developer and ideas for how to redevelop 48 acres known as the Ronkonkoma Hub. The property largely comprises a vast parking lot serving Long Island Rail Road commuters.

Midway Crossing was canceled in January of last year by Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine.

Romaine spokesman Michael Martino declined to comment Thursday.

At a gathering in Woodbury last month, Romaine, a Republican, said he hoped to develop "not housing, but maybe medical, maybe research, a whole host of possibilities there."

Possible development of the Hub site has faced uncertainty amid questions raised by some county officials about the viability of building on the property.

Islip officials are in the early stages of crafting plans for a new terminal at the airport, just to the south. That, too, faces an uncertain fate amid opposition among some board members.

The document, known as a request for proposals, says county officials hope to redevelop the parking lot in "a manner that takes full advantage of the subject property’s unique positioning amidst regional institutional, economic and transportation assets."

The deadline for submissions is Sept. 25.

Supporters of development say the county and Islip risk losing $150 million in state funds committed to the project, plus $50 million generated by the county hotel/motel tax earmarked for Ronkonkoma.

Release of the document was welcomed Thursday by some county and Islip Town officials.

“Sustainable, responsible growth is absolutely essential if our region is going to thrive,” Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, a Republican, said in a statement to Newsday. “[This is] the kind of forward-looking development that will benefit generations to come.”

Suffolk Legis. Steven Flotteron (R-Brightwaters) said Suffolk would be "crazy if we don’t always look for opportunities. Right now, the county land up there is just a giant blacktop parking lot."

Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a business group, said developing the land "will ripple across all of Long Island. What makes this vision so compelling is its scale; it looks at Ronkonkoma not just as a train station and airport, but as the epicenter of a fully integrated transit, aviation and economic hub."

Development plans at the site have faced turbulence since 2018, when the administration of then-County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat, first proposed a hockey rink at the site. 

Subsequent iterations of the project have included a convention center, health sciences facilities, a hotel and a link between the train station and the airport via a monorail or walkway.

Those tensions resurfaced in May when Suffolk Legis. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), the legislature's presiding officer, cast doubt on future development.

Referring to the state and county funding, Piccirillo said last month, "We should be able to access [that money] for infrastructure problems that are pressing right now."