Calverton resort project addressed at forum 
 

Brookhaven Director of Planning, Paul Rogalle

By Vera Chinese

More than 200 people attended a forum in Hampton Bays Monday night to voice their concerns over Riverhead Resorts, an ambitious $2.1 billion multi-faceted resort complex—one that includes a 350-foot-tall indoor ski mountain among other amenities—that developers want to build on the former Northrop Grumman property in Calverton.

Though they have not yet submitted a formal application to the Riverhead Town Board, the developers behind the project, which also calls for seven additional themed resorts, as well as restaurants, shops and timeshare units, intend to advance their proposal to redevelop the 775-acre site. The developers, Riverhead Resorts, purchased the land in question from Riverhead Town for $155 million in 2007. Additionally, they have already made a non-refundable $2 million payment to Riverhead Town, money that will not be returned if the board ultimately decides to reject the project.
 
At the Southampton Town Senior Center on Ponquogue Avenue Monday night, a panel that included a representative of Riverhead Resorts, officials from Riverhead and Brookhaven towns, and environmentalists from the East End answered questions about the proposed project, while also voicing their personal opinions. Joining Mitch Pally, the attorney representing the developers, were Riverhead Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale, Group for the East End President Bob DeLuca, The Nature Conservancy Director of Public Lands Kevin McDonald and Brookhaven Town Director of Planning Paul Rogalle.
 
The two-hour public forum, which was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, opened with each representative, starting with Mr. Pally, offering their opinions of the project.
 
He noted that the developers intend to break ground in 2010, and complete portions of the resort complex as soon as 2013. The entire project is expected to take about a decade to finish.
 
According to the developer’s website, Riverheadresort.com, the final product will include an indoor ski mountain, a water park, an equine resort with an indoor arena, a convention center, a spa, a sports lifestyle resort, a wilderness resort and a heritage village, all surrounding a 90-acre man-made lake.
 
Mr. Pally emphasized that the project would boost the East End’s economy, noting that it will create jobs and generate tax revenue. He also said that developers are interested in building the complex so that it adheres to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Mr. Cardinale, who supports the proposal, noted that the company is completing an environmental review of the property, a potential sticking point, after several short-eared owls, an endangered species, were observed last spring on the runways of the former Grumman manufacturing facility, which is part of the pine barrens. On Monday, the supervisor focused on the benefits of the project, namely the sales tax revenues that Riverhead Town, and all of Suffolk County, will receive if the resort complex is constructed. “Both the positives and negatives are regional,” he said. “It is not limited to Riverhead.”
 
Meanwhile, both Mr. DeLuca and Mr. McDonald raised concerns about the size and scope of the complex, noting that such a large facility will harm the environment and lead to an increase on traffic on local roads that cannot accommodate the number of tourists that Riverhead Resorts wants to attract.
 
Though a lead agency for the project has not yet been named, Mr. DeLuca stated that, in his opinion, New York State should serve in that capacity, noting that Riverhead Town should not be allowed to lead the environmental review. “We need the help of the State of New York,” he said.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. McDonald remained skeptical about the feasibility of the project and was concerned over the ramifications of such an ambitious plan.
 
“In the end, it does need to be reduced in size,” Mr. McDonald said, later adding, “If you approve something that is too big, you never get to go back.”
 
After the opening remarks, panel members answered questions that were submitted by audience members and screened by the League of Women Voters. One question asked why tourists would choose to visit an indoor ski mountain rather than actual slopes in Vermont and upstate New York. Mr. Pally replied that there was a market for the amenities that Riverhead Resorts would offer. “If there wasn’t, I can assure you I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
 
He explained that, at last count, there are 52 indoor ski mountains, similar to what Riverhead Resorts is proposing, in operation around the world, including one in Dubai, Saudi Arabia. “Since none of them are in our country, we tend to think they don’t exist,” Mr. Pally added.
 
Another submitted question asked how the faltering economy would affect such an expensive project. “Is the operating paradigm still valid today,” Mr. McDonald also asked Mr. Pally.
 
Mr. Pally answered that Riverhead Resorts conducted feasibility studies to determine whether the area could economically sustain such a large tourist attraction, and all indications are that the company will be successful. He went on to say that the multiple facilities are expected to attract the same tourists who visit Manhattan.
 
Greg Fischer, a board member of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, said after the forum that he could not envision such a large project in his hometown.
 
“It’s a joke,” Mr. Fischer said. “It’s just not feasible.”
 
When asked if he or his civic organization intended to fight the proposal, Mr. Fischer answered: “We think we’re going to let it implode.”