Riverhead hospital addition plan gets preliminary OK

A three-floor hospital construction project proposed by Peconic Bay Medical Center/Northwell Health in Riverhead is one step closer to fruition after its preliminary site plan was approved.

The Riverhead Town Board at its regular meeting Wednesday voted unanimously, 4-0, to approve the site plan application calling for construction of a 50,655-square-foot addition to the hospital.

The construction would provide space for the creation of a new intensive care unit, heliport, emergency room space and a cardiac catheterization/electrophysiology suite, among other facilities, officials said.

The proposal drew support from construction and building unions at a Dec. 6 public hearing. The board determined at its Jan. 4 meeting that the proposal did not require an environmental-impact statement and issued a negative State Environmental Quality Review declaration, meaning the project was found to not have an adverse environmental impact.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said that plans — prepared by WHR Architects, a Houston, Texas-based health care architectural design company with an office in Manhattan — will now go before the town’s Architectural Review Board for approval. If approved, it would then go to the town board for the final site plan approval.

Hospital officials have said that adding new facilities, especially for cardiac care, could greatly improve health care on Long Island’s North Fork.