FARMINGVILLE, NY According to Frederick Braun III, chairman of the town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency (IDA), the agency has closed on a package of economic incentives that will assist a new owner to  redevelop the former Dowling College campus in Shirley into an aviation education and research center.

The incentives, which will assist Triple Five Aviation Industries LLC, of East Rutherford, NJ, redevelop the 105-acre Shirley campus, were approved at an IDA meeting on August 29th. The campus, adjacent to the town-owned Brookhaven Calabro Airport, has 70 dormitory rooms, an athletic complex, and an aircraft hangar. 

Triple Five’s parent company, Triple Five Worldwide Group, is the developer of the two largest indoor shopping malls in North America, including the Mall of America in Minneapolis, and it is developing the Great American Mall in the New Jersey Meadowlands and has proposed a new mall in Miami, Fla. On Long Island, Triple Five is partnering with Luminati Aerospace in their attempts to purchase most of Riverhead town’s remaining land at the Calverton Enterprise Park.

Triple Five said in its application that among the businesses it is hoping to attract to the Shirley campus are corporate research and development firms, educational aviation institutions, material science training programs and recreational users. It said as many as 50 people could be employed at the campus within two years.

Stuart Bienstock, director of business development for Triple Five, said the company plans to spend $2 million in upgrades to the campus.  “Our goal for the site is an industry-university research and development center for advanced transportation technology and propel the Long Island eco-system and the William Floyd Corridor to a leadership position in advanced technology, similar to Silicon Valley,” he said.

“We are eager to again have the former Dowling campus contributing to the town’s economy and Triple Five’s ambitious plan to reinvigorate the campus also could benefit the town-owned airport,” said Braun.

Dowling, whose main campus was in Oakdale, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016.

Since 1971, the mission of the BIDA is to improve the quality of life for Brookhaven residents by promoting and assisting the growth of businesses who support the Town through capital investment and the creation and retention of jobs. The IDA has issued millions of dollars in tax-exempt or taxable bonds and provided assistance through straight lease deals to encourage companies to either locate or expand in the Town of Brookhaven. This assistance has been extended to companies both large and small, and has resulted in the direct creation of thousands of jobs for Brookhaven residents. The IDA has provided assistance to a wide range of companies, including Tate’s Bake Shop, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Precision International, LI Precast, Uncle Wally’s, and Framerica.