Housing Units Key Topic of Ronkonkoma HUB

A planning study done in March 2009 by VHB, an engineering and planning firm based in Hauppauge, shows the potential for major revitalization at the Ronkonkoma train station, which is a major hub for the Long Island Rail Road.

"The high level of activity at the station, coupled with vacant and underutilized parcels surrounding the station, offers a strong opportunity to promote and facilitate new development," the study says.

Thursday Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy came out with his proposed capital budget for 2011, $4 million of which will be used for transit-oriented development, which is a key word being thrown around the Ronkonkoma area in the last year. Though $4 million is nothing compared to the totals it would cost to revitalize the Ronkonkoma HUB, it's an idea that government agencies are increasingly thinking about change for the future.

"Transit-oriented development focuses on mixed uses, promoting walk-able with street-level retail shops, apartments above the shops and pedestrian access to mass transit," said Levy.

Adding downtown housing to the area is a main part of the study. Think of the Village of Patchogue, who has changed its structure slightly by adding more affordable housing units. With the Ronkonkoma HUB, there will be a major rejuvenation aside from housing, but the need for these units has become a draw all over Suffolk County.

"When it comes to creating more workforce housing for young people, everyone talks the good talk," Levy said before the Long Island Regional Planning Council last November. "But you have to take action and you have to deal with the 'Not in my backyard' folks."

"This would be housing that is segregated from traditional neighborhoods that exist now," said George Schramm, president of the Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization.

The study said the area, which encompasses 181 acres, could sustain 688 housing units, but the actual level added will be the result, "of the achievement of a balance between market demand and the capacity of local services (e.g. schools, sewer, etc.) to support these units (taking into account the tax benefits and costs associated with such development), according to the study.

A range of about 430 units seems to make more logical sense. That number was also mentioned in the study.

The ideal outcome for the HUB would make Railroad Avenue into a "main street community," with mixed-use buildings, accompanied by housing units.

Highlights of the Vision Plan from the March 2009 study:

-Urban plazas at key intersections to provide public spaces for pedestrians and help activate the street.

-Streetscape enhancements including sidewalks, signage, lighting and landscaping along Railroad Avenue, Mill Road and Hawkins Avenue.

-Orient buildings towards the street edge along Railroad Avenue and Hawkins to help define the "main street" character. 

-Parking at the rear or interior of lots and seek opportunities for shared parking.

-Active pedestrian-oriented uses on the ground floor, particularly along Railroad

Avenue between Garrity Avenue and the Station.

-New development on the MTA "bus loop" site.

-Buildings up to 5 stories on Railroad Avenue, up to 4 stories tall on Mill Road and up to 2.5 stories on Union Avenue.

-Streetscape enhancements to the Station plaza.

-Mix of uses on upper floors.

-Buildings oriented toward the street edge along Mill Road.

-Parking garages located at the interior or rear of lots.

-Multi-family buildings oriented toward amenities such as parks or plazas.

-Residential unit types mixed within development sites. 

-Pedestrian connections to Fairfield residential apartments.

Follow Sachem Patch over the coming months for more about this project as it develops and feel free to sound off about the plan by emailing editor Chris Vaccaro at Chris@Patch.com or by commenting below.