Five-story 48-unit Main St. apartment building set for Feb. 6 hearing

The next high-density residential development proposed for downtown Riverhead is on its way to a planning board public hearing next week.

A preliminary site plan for the five-story, 48-unit Blue River Estates development is scheduled for a public hearing before the planning board next Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m.

The apartment complex proposed for the half-acre site at 11 W. Main St. consists of one- and two-bedroom “upscale” apartments and 48 on-site ground floor parking stalls.

Project architect Martin Sendlewski said in an interview last week he expects construction of the $10 million project to take about a year and — if the planning board acts on the application quickly — the apartments could be ready for occupancy by summer 2015. The existing building— currently owned and occupied by the L.I. Science Center, which plans to move to an East Main Street location — will be demolished to make way for the five-story apartment building.

The building will feature a central, four-story atrium open to a skylight that will flood the building interior with sunlight, Sendlewski told Riverhead Town Board members a year ago. There will be a central area on each floor where building amenities will be located: a community room on the second floor; an activity room on the third floor; a gym on the fourth floor; a pool and spa on the fifth floor, according to the architect.

Blue River Estates is in contract to buy the property from L.I. Science Center for an undisclosed amount. Its obligation to close with the Science Center is contingent upon approvals, Sendlewski said.

The Science Center is in contract to buy the former West Marine building on East Main Street and plans to renovate that space to accommodate exhibit areas, classrooms and offices. That deal is “very healthy,” according to LISC board member Larry Oxman.

Exhibit space in the new 10,000-square-foot building will be about double that of the current space, Oxman said.

“And everything will be on the same floor. That’s very exciting,” he said.

The building that formerly housed the marine retail store — which moved to Route 58 — is structurally sound, Oxman said, and can be renovated to accommodate the new use within a couple of months, he said.

Once the sale of 11 West Main Street to Blue River Estates is closed, the Science Center will close on its purchase of the site down the block “almost immediately,” Oxman said.

Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter said he’s looking forward to the projects coming to fruition.

“I think it will be a great thing for downtown, because there will be more people on Main Street,” Walter said.

When Sendlewski pitched the project to a receptive town board last January, Walter promised expedited review and approval of the plan. Asked last week if he was disappointed the plans had not yet been approved, Walter said, “The town has processed their application as quickly as everything was submitted. I’m very supportive of the project and can’t wait to see it built.”

Editor’s notw: A previously published version of this article was accompanied by the image of an outdated rendering.