Listen to this articleThe Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency has closed on a package of economic incentives for an affiliate of Tritec Real Estate for the next phase of its sprawling Station Yards mixed-use development in Ronkonkoma.
Called Phase 2B, the next portion of the Station Yards project will bring 175 rental apartments, 1,400 square feet of retail space and a parking garage to accommodate 247 cars on a 3.9-acre site bordered by Railroad Avenue, Hawkins Avenue, Union Street and Garrity Avenue. The new development will replace a former bus depot and a 40,000-square-foot building that will be demolished.
The $113 million Phase 2B is expected to generate 350 construction jobs and five full-time-equivalent jobs within two years of its completion. It is expected to take from 15 to 20 months to complete, according to an IDA statement.
Tritec is nearing completion of the 7-acre Phase 2A at Station Yards, which includes 388 rental apartments and 70,000 square feet of retail space surrounding a 10,000-square-foot village green. It also has parking for more than 1,200 vehicles, most of which is provided by a five-level parking structure.
The project’s $164 million first phase, called Alston Station Yards, was completed in March 2020 and brought 489 apartments to a 12-acre site to the northeast of the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station.
Twelve years ago, the Town of Brookhaven designated Tritec as the master developer to reimagine some 53 acres around the Ronkonkoma LIRR station. The ambitious project was designated as regionally significant by both the Long Island Regional Planning Council and the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council and the effort received support from the town, Suffolk County, the Town of Islip and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority which formed the Ronkonkoma Hub Regional Planning Alliance in April 2015.
Construction of the $1.2 billion walkable, mixed-use mecca also known as the Ronkonkoma Hub began in 2017. Tritec spent about $130 million to make the project possible, including $40 million for one of the largest-ever forced sewer mains and a pump station. The rest of the costs went towards installing water, electric and gas service, roads and sidewalks, and more.
The Brookhaven IDA has been instrumental in advancing the project, which has created thousands of construction jobs and will bring 1,450 new apartments.
“The IDA continues to support this transformative project, which is helping to attract and retain a diverse and talented workforce for our community by providing much-needed rental housing,” Brookhaven IDA Chairman Frederick Braun said in the statement.