East End Arts and DXA Studio unveiled a conceptual redesign Thursday for the organization’s East Main Street campus that would raise and relocate its historic buildings to protect them from flooding while creating a more accessible arts and gathering space in downtown Riverhead.

The presentation, delivered at the Riverhead Town Board work session, outlined a first phase focused on elevating the buildings to street level and reorganizing the campus layout while preserving all of the historic structures.

“This first phase is about protecting the historic buildings that have defined East End Arts for decades while creating a campus that is more accessible, connected and central to Riverhead’s new downtown,” East End Arts and Humanities Council Executive Director Wendy Weiss said.

Riverhead Town owns the East End Arts property. Through a grant-funded study, the town engaged DXA Studio to work with the East End Arts Council to develop a vision for the site.

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The project is tied to the town’s larger flood mitigation and downtown redevelopment efforts surrounding the new town square, hotel and residential development now under construction nearby.

“The reason we are working on this project is because we knew we needed to move the buildings at East End Arts up and out of the floodplain so they do not wash away,” Community Development Administrator Dawn Thomas said during the meeting. “The idea became, where should they go? And the idea of having East End Arts really weigh in on that and decide what their future looks like became important.”

The north end of the site, fronting on Main Street, is to be raised to street level. Currently, it sits several feet below the grade of the street.

“By bringing the buildings closer to street level and reorganizing the site, the plan improves visibility, pedestrian access and connections to the surrounding public realm,” East End Arts and DXA Studio said in a joint press release issued after the work session.

Under the proposal, the Davis-Corwin House gallery building would be shifted west while remaining along the Main Street frontage. The Benjamin House, home to the School of the Arts, would remain largely in place but be elevated to the new grade.

Source: RiverheadLOCAL