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A firm that oversaw redevelopment efforts for multiple Long Island municipalities will now lead a planned overhaul of the area next to Smithtown’s LIRR station.
Town officials last month selected Tritec — an East Setauket-based company that has worked on downtown makeovers near transit hubs in Patchogue, Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma — to serve as master developer for a part of Smithtown’s downtown that is home to parking lots and small commercial properties.
20 Photos: Gorgeous images from Smithtown in fall
Chris Kelly, Tritec’s vice president of marketing, told Long Island Business News that the firm is “incredibly excited to work on the continued revitalization of Smithtown’s Main Street,” noting that many employees live in the town on the North Shore.
“We will bring the same passion and energy that we have been able to bring to other Long Island downtowns, work closely with all the stakeholders, help the town realize its vision and generate investment and economic activity,” he said.
Tritec was among several development firms that had responded to Smithtown’s April 20 request for qualifications “from vendors interested in providing a Transit-Oriented Development Plan.”
The town is seeking to follow the lead of other Long Island downtowns that have relied on proximity to LIRR stations and walkability to help create new housing and retail — and it’s turning to a firm that has built 2,000 housing units islandwide over the last decade.
One of Tritec’s long-running transit-related projects is the $1.2 billion effort to develop more than 50 acres in Ronkonkoma around the LIRR’s second-busiest station on Long Island. The Station Yards development calls for up to 1,450 new apartment units and more than half a million square feet of retail, office and medical space.
Its earliest transit-oriented development was in Patchogue, where nearly 300 apartments and 45,000 square feet of retail were added to the village as part of the $112 million New Village project that helped spur a downtown revitalization and attract young renters.
And its Shoregate complex in downtown Bay Shore opened to residents last month.
Smithtown, in 2020, released its first comprehensive plan for the town in more than 60 years, a blueprint that called for promoting a “desirable pedestrian environment in the downtown business districts” and supporting modes of transportation apart from the automobile, including e-scooters, motorcycles, buses and trains.
Smithtown Councilmember Tom McCarthy told Newsday in May that the planned makeover around the town’s LIRR station will bring new residents and shoppers to the downtown while providing a needed boost to the area around the commuter rail stop on Redwood Lane.
“We’re looking to clean up,” he said.
Top: Smithtown’s Main Street as it appeared in October 2020. (Credit: Andrew Theodorakis/GLI file photo)
