East Hampton Housing Authority Closes on Site for Proposed 30-40 Affordable Rental Units in Amagansett

EAST HAMPTON, NY - It was a big day for potential affordable housing in Amagansett on Tuesday.

The East Hampton Housing Authority closed Tuesday on the purchase of 531 Montauk Highway in Amagansett, the proposed site of 30 to 40 units of multi-family affordable rental housing.

The units are proposed to include studios, one, two, and three bedroom apartments.

The parcel was cold by Putnam Farm Holdings, LLC, out of Puerto Rico, for approximately $3.4 million, a release said.consisting of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Puerto Rico-based Putnam Farm Holdings LLC sold the property for about $3.4 million.

The East Hampton Town Board recently voted to vouch for $250,000 for a down payment on the local Housing Authority’s proposed affordable housing project in Amagansett.

The Housing Authority released plans in October to build a “pocket neighborhood” of 13 to 17 small cottage-like buildings on 531 Montauk Highway, which would contain a total of about 36 apartments.

The new apartment community is predicted to add a total of about 75 new residents and adding about 37 students to the East Hampton School District.

The project would offer applicants opportunities to qualify for studio, one-, two- or three-bedroom units to be rented out for between about $1,000 and $2,200 per month.

The project will cost a total of $18 million.

The East Hampton Housing Authority released a project proposal for the rental apartment complex last fall.

The plans would also include a community building with meeting space and laundry facilities for tenant use, universal Wi-Fi, commercial suites; one to be reserved for a community service activity and three limited business use units, central green, individual flower beds, community vegetable garden, playground, and a private outdoor space for each unit, according to the plans.

There will also be progressive waste water management, grey water recovery, and rain gardens.

“The population of East Hampton Town is increasing, becoming older on average while the percentage of the population aged 34 years or younger is decreasing,” the presentation of the plans reads. “A large proportion of the Town’s housing inventory is in the form of seasonal housing with fewer housing units available for year-round ownership or rental, 60 percent to 40 percent. Of the town’s occupied, year-round housing units, 75 percent are owner occupied and 25 percent are renter occupied.”

In addition, a significant percentage of both homeowners and renters in East Hampton are income constrained and greatly burdened by housing costs, more so than in most other areas of the East End and Suffolk County, according to the presentation.

The average home price in East Hampton Town has risen 215 percent since 1999 relative to the increase in median family income, 43 percent, and has become the most expensive — both in absolute terms and in comparison to median income — of any East End Township, according to the presentation.

The East Hampton town board greenlighted the Housing Authority with $4 million in loans in order to buy the property.