ROBERT STEUTEVILLE    JAN. 1, 2009
The Vintage Group, led by Riverhead, New York, developer John Burke, is planning a four-acre mixed-use project that that would be a pivot point between downtown Riverhead and a panoply of transit connections — existing Long Island Railroad commuter trains and Suffolk County buses and a proposed trolley that would carry passengers to and from ferries that cross Long Island Sound.
Burke’s development, the five-story, 630,000 sq. ft. Vintage Square at Riverhead, on eastern Long Island, is envisioned as including workforce housing, a multi-screen cinema, a pedestrian plaza, a parking deck, and about 100,000 sq. ft. of commercial and retail space. Recipient of a smart-growth award from Vision Long Island, the project would “take a lot of cars off the roads,” Burke says.
“Everything is already zoned,” Burke says. “We don’t need exceptions.” The site plan has yet to be submitted. “We hope to have all the approvals by the end of next summer and to break ground in early fall.” Transportation funds will be sought for the transit-oriented development.