Planned Shirley ice skating rink, distribution center at former Dowling site clears regulatory hurdle
A rendering of the planned ice skating rink at the site of the shuttered Dowling College aviation school in Shirley. Credit: Town of Brookhaven
A planned Shirley ice skating rink and distribution center at the former Dowling College aviation school cleared its first regulatory hurdle last week after the Brookhaven Town Board approved a zoning change and developers agreed to modify the plan.
Small delivery trucks for so-called "last mile" deliveries will be barred from the distribution center to address concerns about traffic in the surrounding neighborhood, Supervisor Dan Panico said Thursday before the town board voted 6-0 to reclassify the William Floyd Parkway property from residential to industrial. The change permits construction of the distribution center and the rink at the 105-acre site.
Previously, New Jersey-based developer Hampshire Ventures and the property's owner, Triple Five Aviation Industries LLC, agreed to close an entrance to the property from Flower Hill Drive East to address concerns about truck traffic using that road, officials said, adding all traffic will have to use an exit and entrance on William Floyd Parkway.
“Part of the evolution [toward the town's rezoning approval] is truly listening to the community we represent,” Panico said Thursday. “Keeping Flower Hill closed ... was a big point.”
Hampshire Ventures plans to build and operate three warehouses totaling 596,000 square feet of floor space. Tenants for the warehouses have not been announced.
The company also would build the rink and refurbish Dowling's former baseball and football fields at the site, and donate them to the town, officials have said.
The aviation school, which also included Dowling's athletics complex, closed in 2016 when the Oakdale-based college declared bankruptcy and shut its doors amid soaring debt and declining enrollment.
Supporters of the Hampshire Ventures plan have said the rink and ballfields would fill a need for athletic facilities in southeast Brookhaven.
But town officials and some residents had questioned whether a large distribution center was needed, noting the growing presence of warehouses throughout Brookhaven. A 2022 report commissioned by the Brookhaven Town Industrial Development Agency warned that a glut of warehouse space could lead to widespread vacancies.
A Shirley civic leader, Raymond Keenan, said he was pleased that neighbors' traffic concerns had been addressed.
“I haven’t heard any complaints," said Keenan, president of the Manor Park Civic Association. "I don’t see any issues with it.”
Councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig, who represents Shirley, said the project is "wonderful. I can’t wait to see it all happen.”
Hampshire Ventures previously agreed to pay Brookhaven a $2.24 million land use fee for future open space land purchases elsewhere in Brookhaven, officials have said.
The developer plans to buy the site for an undisclosed sum from Triple Five Aviation, officials have said. Hampshire Ventures must receive town board approval of a site plan before construction can start.
Christopher E. Kent, a Hauppauge lawyer for Triple Five who also speaks on behalf of Hampshire Ventures, said his clients were "very excited" about the zoning change. He said engineers from Herndon, Virginia-based Bohler Engineering are preparing site plan proposals that will take several months to complete.
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
