2 firms vie to market Enterprise Park sites in Calverton

Riverhead Town officials, seeking to market the 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton to developers this year, have a choice between two commercial real estate firms.

Cushman & Wakefield, based in Melville, and Manhattan-based Newmark Grubb Knight Frank responded to an April request by the town board seeking companies that can help sell 600 acres of the site, Supervisor Sean Walter said.

"We've got a real gem," Walter said of the property. "We want to see what each of these groups, what their vision is."

Riverhead officials have tried since 1998 to develop the sprawling park -- where Grumman Corp. once built and tested military aircraft for the Navy -- into a source of jobs for the East End.

Walter said he wants one or more developers to build a high-tech corporate and industrial park at the site, known as EPCAL, and wants a real estate firm to market the property to companies as far away as South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

"It's a big job," he said. "I don't know if the appetite exists on Long Island for the whole 600 acres."

Walter said he believes town officials may complete a lengthy subdivision process for the property by the end of the year.