Ronkonkoma Hub project gets $1M for sewers

The Ronkonkoma Hub project has gotten a funding boost from the state.

The massive transit-oriented project to build pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development around the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station was awarded $1.05 million in a round of grants from the Regional Economic Development Council in December.

The money is earmarked specifically for the project's sewer connections and sewage treatment plant on the Brookhaven side of the Hub footprint.

It's a fraction of the estimated $21 million for the total sewage system -- the rest of the cost of the sewage system will be paid for by a bond on the users of the new system. The total cost is estimated to be about $350 million.

"I am fully in favor of this," Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said. "Sewers allow us to do the kind of construction that is necessary for the development of the Hub. Without sewers we could not move forward -- without sewers we couldn't do this project."

The proposal calls for turning blighted areas into retail, office space and housing in Brookhaven and in Islip Town's nearby MacArthur Airport corridor. Under master developer TRITEC Real Estate, plans call for an 880-unit housing project and 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of commercial space to be built.