Northrop Grumman provides historic display for future CAT office

The future office of Calverton Aviation Technology (CAT) will feature a permanent display of historic photographic memorabilia, thanks to a donation from Northrop Grumman. 

CAT, headed by Triple Five Worldwide Group, is planning to develop a new industrial park at the Enterprise Park at Calverton, where Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy once tested F14s and other military aircraft.   

“We are honored that we have been designated as a recipient of materials that honor the men and women who worked on cutting edge aviation technology that defended our nation for decades,” Triple Five principal Justin Ghermezian, said in a company statement. “When Grumman was based at Calverton they were flight testing squadrons of Navy fighters and bombers. There wasn’t a time when their employees weren’t introducing aviation innovation. This property demonstrated the enormous economic power of technology as a critical component in our nation’s defense. It is now time to reclaim this site’s heritage of job creation, economic growth, and the ability to be a world class center for business and technological innovation.” 

The developer is awaiting to close on its $40 million acquisition of 1,644 acres at EPCAL from the Town of Riverhead, where it plans to create a corporate campus on about 600 acres of the property, which will include tenants involved in industrial aviation, aerospace, transportation, technology and logistics, among others. The property is zoned to accommodate 9.8 million square feet of development and the purchase agreement with the town calls for CAT to build a minimum of 1 million square feet of development at EPCAL within the first five years. 

It’s been more than two decades since the town took title to the 2,900-acre Calverton property from the Navy and besides the portion to be preserved as open space to protect the region’s environmental health, the balance of the property was always earmarked for economic development. 

“The federal government transferred this former flight test center to the town for the specific purpose of reinventing economic development for the people of Riverhead and the region,” Ghermezian said in the statement. “Our company intends to restore this site as an economic engine that meets the challenges of a 21st century economy. We stand ready to meet that challenge.”