The Town of Riverhead Industrial Development Agency held two public hearings Monday on proposed tax breaks for major development projects but took no votes, instead leaving the record open for further public comment.
The first hearing concerned an application from 1001 Scott LLC and Island Facades LLC for financial assistance to build a roughly 70,445-square-foot manufacturing building on a 10.05-acre parcel at 1001 Scott Avenue in Calverton, within the EPCAL campus. Chairman James Farley read the public notice, which described mortgage recording tax exemptions, sales tax exemptions and a real property tax abatement for the project.
A company representative told the board the facade manufacturer currently employs 400 people at EPCAL and needs to add at least 100 more jobs to meet a contract for a project in Nashville, Tennessee, with production expected to begin by January 2028. He said the company is also considering two alternate sites with existing infrastructure already in place.
Board members asked about training timelines, local business support and energy use. The representative said training for the new positions takes 120 to 180 days and that the company works with local suppliers including Metro Fuel and Heaven Steel, and is studying rooftop solar to offset power use.
One board member said he had toured the facility and called it "a great project," saying he would "hate to see" the jobs there "become vacant" if the company relocated elsewhere. The same board member earlier said expanding the facility was "exactly what the IDA is designed for."
No members of the public spoke at the hearing. The board voted to close the hearing but agreed to keep the written comment period open through noon on Oct. 5.
The board then opened a second hearing on an application from Riverhead Town Square LLC for tax breaks tied to a proposed 94-room hotel and retail development at 121, 127 and 133 East Main Street downtown. The project would demolish about 11,800 square feet of existing buildings and construct a 69,738-square-foot, five-story building with roughly 8,800 square feet of retail, restaurant and food hall space.
No representative of the applicant and no members of the public were present. Farley said "there is a lot of commentary regarding this project in town," and another board member asked whether anyone was present to answer questions.
The board voted to close that hearing for the day as well, extending the opportunity for written and public comment on the hotel project to its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Oct. 5, when it said it would take up the matter again.