Development at EPCAL

For the past five years, Calverton Aviation & Technology (CAT) has been working on a 1,600-acre land purchase of the former Calverton Navel Weapons Plant from the Town of Riverhead. Known today as the Enterprise Park at Calverton (EPCAL), the project site contains approximately 1,000 acres of pine barrens, wetlands, grassland habitat, and rare species, alongside 600 acres that would be more suitable for development.

Among other concerns, the developer's vague outline for the future use of the property raised grave concerns that the site could eventually be repurposed as a commercial cargo jetport and related industrial development. In the fall of 2023, advocates and community members experienced an incredible victory when the Riverhead town board finally considered all the information available and canceled the contract for purchase.

The EPCAL property is now the subject of a lawsuit, with CAT suing the Town of Riverhead and two of its agencies to try to force the sale, in January of 2024. The town board voted in favor 4-1 of a six-month moratorium on industrial projects, giving officials time to update the master plan mentioned above. The Group and our community partners look forward to supporting the town's position.