Ronkonkoma Parking Design Concept Unveiled

Long Island Index is unveiling designs for revolutionary parking structures in Ronkonkoma, and several other towns as part of their ParkingPLUS Design Challenge.

The unveiling, held at Adelphi University Thursday morning, was part of a national contest for architects and designers to create parking structures that would work to revitalize downtown areas of Long Island communities.

"We're doing something very new for suburbs on Long Island. We're using our downtowns for growth," said Bruce Ratner, Executive Chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies. "We need to use and design our parking structures so they interact with our downtowns."

Ronkonkoma LIRR was the subject of one of the design winners' unique projects.

To "transfer the intensity of New York City" to Ronkonkoma, Roger Sherman Architecture and Urban Design created a "super scaled, family focused, all season recreational park" that would transform the area from a soley a train station into a destination. 

The 1.75 million-square-foot design resembling the Empire State Building "at rest" on its side, the 4,411-spot parking structure would be capable of housing airport shuttles, farmers markets, indoor amphitheaters, and auto rallies, among other possibilities.

The designs are concepts and have no relation to the Ronkonkoma Hub project. That proposed $475 million development could bring a mix of residential, commercial, hospitality, retail and entertainment to the train station area is currently being discussed. Brookhaven Town is currently accepting public comment on the Ronkonkoma Hub project for 30 days following the hearing that took place on Jan. 9.

Michael Sorrentino contributed to this report.