Dowling College Shirley Campus Demolished for Redevelopment

The former Dowling College aviation campus in Shirley has been demolished, clearing the way for a major industrial and recreational development on a 105-acre parcel next to Calabro Airport, officials said.

Hampshire Venture Partners LLC, an affiliate of New Jersey-based Hampshire Real Estate Company out of Morristown, acquired the site in June 2025. Nine months after that purchase, the 72,000-square-foot dormitory that once stood on the property has been razed, according to a report by Long Island Business News.

Plans for the site call for three speculative warehouse structures, along with a $25-million recreation center featuring two ice hockey rinks. The project would bring significant economic activity to a stretch of Shirley that has sat largely idle since Dowling College’s collapse.

Not everything on the property is coming down. The redevelopment plan preserves 53,000 square feet of existing space, including office areas, classrooms, and an airplane hangar, for future use. Hampshire Venture Partners has also agreed to donate 45 acres to the Town of Brookhaven. That donation includes 22 acres of open wooded land and three athletic fields.

The Suffolk County Planning Commission projects the development will generate 489 construction jobs and 189 full-time positions tied to warehouse operations once the project is complete.

The property has changed hands more than once since Dowling’s financial collapse. Triple Five Aviation Industries purchased the Shirley campus out of Dowling’s 2018 bankruptcy sale for $14 million. Hampshire Venture Partners then acquired it from Triple Five last year.

Dowling College, which operated campuses in Oakdale and Shirley, shut down in 2016 after years of financial difficulty. The Shirley location housed the college’s aviation program and included student dormitories alongside flight training facilities adjacent to Calabro Airport.

A public hearing before the Brookhaven Town Planning Board is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville. The meeting will also be livestreamed for residents unable to attend in person.

The Shirley site is moving toward a defined future, but the same cannot be said for Dowling’s main campus in Oakdale. The Idle Hour Estate property, a historic waterfront site along the Connetquot River, remains in legal and financial limbo. Trespassing and vandalism continue to plague the abandoned grounds, and no clear redevelopment plan has been announced for the Oakdale location.

The contrast between the two former Dowling properties is stark. In Shirley, a private investment firm has committed capital, secured approvals, and begun physical demolition. In Oakdale, the sprawling estate sits vacant, drawing unauthorized visitors and deteriorating without a defined path forward.

The Brookhaven project represents one of the larger redevelopment efforts on formerly dormant institutional land in Suffolk County in recent years. The combination of warehouse space, recreational facilities, preserved buildings, and donated open acreage reflects a layered approach that county planners have pushed developers to adopt when tackling large parcels.

Residents and stakeholders can weigh in on the plan at Thursday’s planning board hearing. Those with questions about the livestream or public comment process can contact the Brookhaven Town Planning Department ahead of the meeting.