50 Unit Affordable Housing Projected Pitched For Greenport

SOUTHOLD, NY — The promise of a new day dawned in Southold Town Tuesday as plans were proposed for a new affordable housing project that could bring 50 much needed rental units to an area where there is currently a dearth of workforce housing.

A presentation took place at Southold Town Hall unveiling the project, which would be a joint effort between Southold Town, Conifer Realty LLC, and the Community Development Corporation of Long Island on the project, called "Vineyard View."

Located at 62600 North Road in Greenport, the project would be comprised of 7 2-story buildings on 17.20 acres, with 14 1-bedroom units, between 686 and 707 square feet, with a projected rental price of $909 to $1,117 per month; 22 2-bedroom units, between 850 and 884 square feet, with a projected rental range of between $1,094 and $1,344 per month; and 14 3-bedroom units, 1,101 to 1,211 square feet, priced at between $1,264 and $1,552 per month.

Of those units, 25 would be available for households with 50% of the Suffolk County area median income adjusted for family size, and 25 would be for households with up to 60% of the county's median income.

Seven of the acres are buildable, with the balance of the site consisting of wetlands.

The project would include a 100-foot regulated wetland buffer and an additional construction buffer.

Featured in the plans are a clubhouse with a great room, a fitness center, a laundry room and a playground. The community center will be staffed by a community manager and a maintenance supervisor

"The North Fork is at a crisis point where we are losing so many great families," said Denis Noncarrow, Southold Town's government liaison officer. "These people that are struggling are the base that keep our community going. They are our firemen, nurses, teachers, and hold many valuable positions on the North Fork. I rarely go anywhere without someone asking us for help. It is truly heartbreaking when a family is so involved in the community and have kids in our schools yet they can’t find a place to rent and when they do, its 2 times what they can afford. They most likely will leave and bring everything they add to our community with them."

The town, Noncarrow said, looked at many potential site. "This one has many positives and it will be nice to have 50 units in one shot. And it’s also great to have CDCLI and Conifer, two organizations that look for high standards in what they do, to help people with their housing needs," he said.

So far, an application for funding was submitted to New York State in December. Next steps include an application submitted in January to Southold Town for site plan approval, a funding award in May, final site plan approval slated for November, with a construction start planned for March, 2019 and final completion of the plan by May, 2020.

The parcel was in the news for years in a debate over proposed annexation pitched by former Greenport Mayor David Kapell and the owners of the parcel, KACE LI, LLC's; that proposal involved bringing the 17 acres of land, owned by KACE LI, LLC and the Kontokosta family, into the Village of Greenport for the purpose of creating a 128 residence mixed-income community.

The Southold Town's decision to deny the petition for annexation sparked a hotbed of controversy between municipalities; at the time, a joint meeting between Kapell and then-Supervisor Josh Horton and both the village and town boards was organized to vet the issues.

Conifer Development, the Kontakosta family confirmed Tuesday, has entered into contract to purchase the property, subject to their getting the tax credits and approvals necessary to move forward.

On Tuesday, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the property's current zoning is residential hamlet density, which permits up to 4 units per acre. Typically affordable housing proposals require a change of zone to reach that level of density, but, because that zoning is already in place, it requires no action by the board, he said. And the Greenport Village sewer infrastructure is already in place, he added.

"The fact is, based on current zoning, the property can already be developed at that density whether it's affordable housing or not," Russell said. "All this project does it ensures that the development addresses a community need."

Current zoning, he added, requires that a developer of a major subdivision include affordable units as part of the project. However, the developer can choose to "buy out" of that requirement. The funding that the town receives gets deposited into a "committed account" which means the money can only be used for affordable housing.

The town's housing advisory committee, Russell said, is currently discussing how to allocate that money to projects that come forward.

Funding for the proposed project would not be taxpayer money, it would be funds generated by developers to be used for a specific purpose.

"I think that there would be a commitment from the board to release some funds for this project. How much and what for has yet to be decided," Russell said.

Noncarrow said there would be a lottery to choose prospective renters who would then undergo background checks; a media campaign would also be launched to spread the word about the project. There would be no preference given to Southold residents, developers said.

Those who are already listed on the town's housing registry will be moved over to the new list, Noncarrow said.

An informational session on the project will be held Wedneday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Peconic Lane community center, with another to follow Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., to discuss the plans and answer questions from the public.

Rona Smith of the town's housing advisory commission said, over the years, the goal was to find someone "not only to build this, but to maintain it." Conifer, she said, has the management capacity and a dedicated person onsite, which, she said, will ensure success.

Russell said many talk about a lack of affordable apartments. "It's a lack of apartments at an affordable price," he said. "There's no inventory out there at all. We need to address not just supply, but affordability."

All agreed that major employers in the area echo the concern that they just can't keep workers, because there is no housing available in Southold Town.

CDCLI partnered with Southold Town for the first successful affordable housing project, The Cottages at Mattituck; this would be the second venture in town.

Councilman Jim Dinizio said the parcel has been the subject of many public hearings in past years; Smith, he said, as well as the HAC, has worked hard to find partners that "could do what needed to be done here."

Russell agreed. The property, he said, "has been a lightning rod."

In 1994, he said, the town hired a consultant to review all hamlet zoned parcels left in tow; of the 5, the property under discussion is one of 4 left untouched. In the past, the zoning designation and the "size and scale" for some of the previous proposals for the site, were issues.

Now, all agreed, the time was right to move ahead.

"This certainly shows what can happen when all the pieces fall together," said Southold Town Councilman Bill Ruland.

Patch courtesy photo of renderings.