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Riverhead officials press Long Island Science Center on stalled downtown redevelopment
Summary
At a heated work session, town board members and residents pressed Long Island Science Center leaders over delayed renovations at 111 Main Street, citing missing permits, expiring grants and lender withdrawals; the center’s architect said a phased opening this fall remains the goal.
Long Island Science Center representatives faced sustained questioning from the Riverhead Town Board on April 2 as the board sought clear evidence of progress on plans to redevelop 111 Main Street.
Jordan Rogov, principal at DXA Studio, told the board the project must proceed in phases because the capital stack—“just under $4 million,” Rogov said—includes reimbursement-based grants and bridge loans that dictate timing. Rogov described phase one as “to just kind of open the doors, turn on the lights, and have a presence,” and said the team is targeting a fall opening for a roughly 4,000-square-foot ground-floor presence while planning a prefabricated phase two above.
The update did not satisfy several board members. Council members and residents repeatedly asked why no site plans or building-permit applications had appeared in the planning or building departments, and why physical work had not begun despite repeated public assurances over several years. One council member estimated the property had been off the tax rolls for six years and cited lost tax revenue and visible deterioration of the facade.
Larry Oxman, identified in the meeting as the science center founder and board president, said the group has been assembling a complex capital stack and that a lender withdrew after a recent “declaration of potential eminent domain,” creating temporary setbacks. Oxman said bridge-loan acquisition has been the “big hangup” and that the center has been pursuing alternate lenders.
The town’s community development director clarified that the science center was named in a strategic investment plan tied to DRRI (Downtown_revitalization) efforts but was not awarded direct DRRI construction funds in the 2022 round. The director said that naming in the plan did, however, help the center leverage other funding opportunities.
Board members also raised technical concerns Rogov had flagged: stormwater damage that began after nearby demolition in 2024, proposed temporary and permanent stormwater remediation (including the possibility of locating retention under the new town square), and emergency-egress constraints if the adjacent town-square grade rises. Rogov said his team has a civil engineer working on temporary fixes and expected to have drawings ready to file with the building department “within the next two to three weeks.”
Several members of the board and residents said they were no longer satisfied with progress and asked the town to consider other options, including sale or alternative ownership, if the nonprofit could not meet deadlines. The board agreed to continue monitoring the project and scheduled follow-up coordination with the master developer and CDA; the science center was invited back to the next work session.
What happens next: DXA said it would supply architectural sets to the building department within weeks and requested a coordinated meeting with town engineers to resolve stormwater and grading integration between the science center, hotel and town-square projects.
