Babylon to spend $200G on East Farmingdale redevelopment

The Town of Babylon will spend up to $200,000 on planning and design for redevelopment in East Farmingdale under a grant agreement with the state.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority awarded the grant as the town seeks a master plan that could put a high-density, mixed-use project on more than a dozen privately owned lots near the intersection of Route 110 and Conklin Street.

“We are taking what I would call an underutilized gem and polishing it off with all the infrastructure and investment that would allow it to reach its fullest potential,” Babylon Town supervisor Rich Schaffer said.

Town planners have said they hope the project will eventually be served by a new Long Island Rail Road station and a bus rapid transit system covering most of Route 110.

The office parks and retail businesses along the Route 110 corridor employ tens of thousands of people with more than 10 million square feet of office and retail space in East Farmingdale and Melville, making it one of the region’s most important arteries, according to county studies.