Riverhead trying again for transit-oriented development

The Town of Riverhead is taking another swing at transforming an “underutilized” parking lot near the Long Island Rail Road station to clean up blight and improve connectivity with the downtown.

The town is asking developers to pitch a new plan to redevelop the two-acre site on Railroad Avenue with housing, shops and other uses after a previous deal fell through. The town board approved a resolution to seek proposals for the project during a meeting on Tuesday.

In 2022, Riverhead named RXR Realty of Uniondale and Jericho-based Georgica Green Ventures joint master developers of a project including 243 apartments, plus ground-floor commercial space and a parking garage.

But the town parted ways with the firms last year after the companies said they were “unable” to continue “after careful consideration of our current resources and strategic priorities,” developers Joe Graziose of RXR and David Gallo of Georgica Green Ventures wrote in a February 2025 letter to the town board. Neither responded to requests for comment this week.

“I think the economy changed a little and the finances didn’t work out for them, so we were back to the beginning,” Dawn Thomas, the town’s community development administrator, said in an interview. “Sometimes it’s good that that happens, because maybe there are better ideas down the road.”

One priority this time around is prioritizing home-ownership opportunities through condominiums, rent-to-own or other models, according to the request for proposals. Proposals for multifamily rentals will also be considered, the document said.

The town envisions between 100 and 200 housing units and ground-floor uses that fit in downtown, from retail and restaurants to childcare, cultural centers and other community spaces.

The mixed-use proposals must also include a plan for replacing the 237 public parking spaces in the current lot “and consider structured, shared, off-site or phased parking solutions where feasible,” the request said. The lot is primarily used by the nearby county court complex.

A traffic study would be required down the line for the winning proposal.

Martin Cantor, an economist and director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, said transit-oriented development can spur economic activity and reduce car dependency. He said the model has proved successful in areas including Mineola and Farmingdale.

“To remove blight, you’ve got to bring in economic activity, and that only comes with renters or homeowners who have discretionary income to spend in your downtown,” Cantor said in an interview. “The more people that are living there, the more feet on the street, the more dollars to spend, and it benefits the merchants.”

The lot is just two blocks from Main Street. In the bid document, officials described the property as having “significant unrealized potential” due to its proximity to transit, the library, historical museum, Polish Town and the downtown riverfront.

Riverhead residents have been critical of building apartments downtown. Cindy Clifford, president of the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, said she’s supportive of paths to ownership that would allow young people to build equity.

Clifford, a downtown resident, said the area by the train station desperately needs a makeover.

“It would give the MTA a better reason to expand service to the Riverhead train station,” she said. “It needs more reasons for people to come there. There’s a lot of room for improvement.”

Separately, Georgica Green Ventures is in the design phase for a mixed-use building around the corner on Griffing Avenue. That project includes 30 workforce condos for first-time buyers, and the developer is negotiating a parking plan with the town, according to town documents.

Responses for the Railroad Avenue redevelopment are due by 3 p.m. on Aug. 24, and Thomas said the town plans to vet the proposals in September.