Brookhaven, Islip Join to Seek Funding for Ronkonkoma HUB

The Towns of Brookhaven and Islip announced Monday the first-ever collaboration between Suffolk’s two largest towns to spur business development and job creation around the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road Station and MacArthur Airport.

According to a release from the Town of Brookhaven, the town boards of both will be considering an intermunicipal agreement at their board meetings on Tuesday to cooperate and collaborate on seeking funding for a sewage treatment plant and infrastructure improvements at the Ronkonkoma Hub.

“The Ronkonkoma Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a transformative project for not just the Long Island region, but the entire East Coast,” Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko said in a statement.

A sewage treatment plant will help spur the redevelopment of the 50-acre Ronkonkoma Hub Transit-Oriented Development surrounding the Ronkonkoma train station in the Town of Brookhaven and the expansion of Long Island MacArthur Airport in the Town of Islip, as well as encourage business development along the Long Island MacArthur Airport Corridor in Islip.

“This project is going to create jobs in the short-term and long-term,” Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan said in a statement. “We know that this project is going to be a home-run for everyone who uses the Ronkonkoma Hub, and we hope that this sets the standard for intermunicipal cooperation in the future.”

The redevelopment of the area would happen around one of the busiest LIRR stations with 14,000 Ronkonkonkoma riders per day. It’s close to Sunrise Highway, the Long Island Expressway and Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The Town of Brookhaven also is issuing a Request for Qualifications for a Master Developer for the Ronkonkoma Hub, which was to be available as of Monday afternoon. The Town of Brookhaven created this RFQ based on responses from its Request for Expression of Interest it received on June 30.

Brookhaven hopes to have a new Main Street center at Ronkonkoma with a mix of office space, housing, shopping, dining, and entertainment opportunities.

"The Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization looks forward to working with both the Town of Brookhaven and the Town of Islip as we continue to engage the community in the development opportunity at the Ronkonkoma Hub," said Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization President, George Schramm, in a statement.

Interested developers may obtain the RFQ by contacting the Purchasing Department at (631) 451-6252. Responses are due by Oct. 28 and there will be a pre-bidders conference and site tour on Oct. 4.

The Design Committee will make a recommendation to the Town Board for a Master Developer by Dec. 7.  If any developers have questions, they can email RonkonkomaTOD@Brookhaven.org.