The 105-acre former Brookhaven Dowling College of Aviation campus, located adjacent to Calabro Airport in Shirley, cleared the rezoning and variance hurdles for redevelopment on March 26.

The zoning change to L1 industrial development will allowHampshire Venture Partners LLCto proceed with the construction of three industrial storage buildings and the renovation of the current on-site 53,000-square-foot hangar, for a total of 600,033 square feet of warehouse space. Additional development of the site includes a 2,400-square-foot sewage treatment plant and an 81,000-square-foot ice hockey rink, with 563 parking spaces.

During the town board meeting, Christopher Kent, representing Hampshire Venture Partners, explained that the campus property was divided into two sections, with one section to create a 60-acre industrial park. Hampshire, in an effort to expedite the subdivision and lift the covenants and restrictions on the property, paid $1 million to theJoseph Macchia Environmental Preservation Capital Reserve Fund(a fund established by Brookhaven in 1998 to purchase undeveloped land considered environmentally significant). Kent further elaborated that Hampshire Venture’s payment represented 50% of the yearly litigation fee for the Joseph Macchia Fund.

Further explaining the benefits the project will bring to the community, Kent said they will keep the existing 23-acre ball fields and construct Brookhaven’s first public ice skating/hockey rink. Once constructed, the rink and ball fields would be deeded to the town. Management of the rink would be under the same management as the Town of Islip’s rinks (located in Hidden Pond Park, Hauppauge).

Town Supervisor Daniel Panico interjected during Kent’s description of the project and stated, “Safeguards are included for the construction of the rink. Completion of the rink is essential for Hampshire’s project, because the town will withhold all COs for the final stage of construction if the hockey rink is not completed. If Hampshire cancels the project, the town will use bonds to build the rink ourselves. Either way, the Town of Brookhaven will get its hockey rink!”

Kent explained that additional environmental and community considerations would include a residential buffer along the entire length of the property, which encompasses 21 acres of wooded area to be preserved as parkland. All landscaping on the property will consist of native, drought-tolerant plants to minimize irrigation. To reduce commercial traffic, all roads accessing the development will be on William Floyd Parkway rather than on the surrounding residential streets. Warehouse traffic within the development would be diverted to routes near Calabro Airport, away from the recreational facility.

Addressing the potential for an overstrained sewage district, Kent explained that the site will have a sewage treatment facility capable of treating all sewage from all onsite recreational facilities and the industrial warehouses, with an estimated maximum capacity of 42,000 gallons per day.

Following Kent’s outline of the project to the board, Panico stated that these buildings will not be leased to Amazon and that this has been filed as a covenant. Brookhaven IDA rules state they do not support speculative warehousing (not leased to tenants but built assuming high market demand).

Addressing a concern about land preservation from a resident in the audience, Panico affirmed that the funds deposited into the Joseph Macchia Environmental Preservation Capital Reserve Fund, along with additional money paid by Hampshire for the final zoning change, totaled more than $2 million. This amount could be used as a trade-off to potentially acquire the 800 acres of the North Woods property on the north side of Moriches-Middle Island Road in Manorville, which is currently on the market. Panico explained that once the town secures the land, he will propose naming the park after environmental activistRichard Amper.

An additional concern raised by a resident in the audience was the recent trend of Homeland Security purchasing storage facilities near airports for use as immigration detention centers. Panico and Hampshire responded that there are no plans to build or lease the property as a detention center. Kent mentioned that the goal is to make this project acceptable to everyone, and another representative offered to add a covenant stating that the property will never be leased as an immigration detention center.

Source: LI Press