Sixty-Unit Workforce Housing Complex Being Considered On County Road 39 In Southampton

A Medford-based nonprofit announced last week that it hopes to build 60 units of affordable and workforce housing off County Road 39 in Southampton, on land it would purchase from the Southampton Full Gospel Church.

Representatives of the organization, Concern for Independent Living, met with the Southampton Town Board on Thursday, February 7, to gauge the board’s interest in the project before filing an official application.

In order for the project to become a reality, the Town Board would have to change the zoning of the 9.4-acre parcel behind the church property, which currently is vacant.

Ralph Fasano, the executive director of the organization, presented conceptual plans for the project, consisting of 6 10-unit buildings on 5 acres of the 9.4-acre parcel, to Town Board members at a work session on Thursday.

Church officials have been in talks to sell the land to the organization, which helps create affordable and workforce housing opportunities, while also providing support services to those in need.

If the board members give the group a green light, the organization would submit a formal application to change the zoning of the property from residential half-acre zoning to multi-family housing.

Under the existing half-acre, or R-20, zoning designation, the developer would only be permitted to construct seven single-family homes on the site. If changed to multi-family zoning, the developer could construct six units per acre, or 30 units. But because the units would be offered as affordable housing, the developer would be permitted to construct 12 units per acre, or 60 units in total.

The meeting on Thursday was intended to gauge the interest of the Town Board members, to see if the developer should submit a change of zone application.

“It allows you to say, ‘We don’t want to consider a formal application,’” Town Planning and Development Administrator Kyle Collins told board members. “The application would die at that point.”

Board members expressed concerns and suggested the developers talk with residents before moving forward with an application, but they did not discourage it.

Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he was concerned about the potential increase in traffic resulting from the project. But he also said he would like to see the project move forward to a formal application, because it seemed like a viable plan to provide more affordable housing to the East End.

“It’s too important to not allow it to get to that point,” he said.

Under the plan, the developer would offer 36 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom units. A one-bedroom unit would rent for anywhere from $550 to $800 per month, according to Mr. Fasano, and a two-bedroom apartment would be between $1,100 and $1,200 per month. “It sounds very cheap for out here,” he said.

All units would be rentals and would be managed by the organization. The developer would set aside 15 of the units specifically for veterans, Mr. Fasano said, and also help veterans with special needs find work and get acclimated to the area.

“It’s really affordable housing with supportive services for those who need it,” he said. “Primarily, though, it’s workforce housing.”

The workforce units would be awarded through a lottery operated by the organization, and local workers would be given preference.

James Havrilla, a senior engineer at the Melville-based H2M Architects and Engineers—who said he was not related to the church’s pastor, the Reverend Donald Havrilla—reviewed alternative routes in and out of the development at the work session.

Development plans show access to the development from County Road 39, with two additional roads—one going into the Hillcrest neighborhood to the south, and another heading west onto Seasons Lane—provided as alternative access roads to the apartment complex.

The idea of additional workforce housing in the town, Mr. Schneiderman suggested, could mean lighter traffic overall for east-west commuters.

“The traffic on County Road 39 is largely workforce—workers commuting from west of the Shinnecock Canal who work east of Shinnecock Canal—so this has the potential to reduce traffic by allowing some of the workforce to live east of the canal,” he said. “Eighty percent of our town employees live west of the Shinnecock Canal, so it is a big problem. The more we can create places for that workforce to live closer to where they work, the less traffic we’ll have.”

In addition to the traffic, the density of the project concerned Town Board member Christine Scalera. She questioned whether Mr. Fasano had an option for fewer units than planned, but he said 60 units would be the minimum number to make the project viable.

Mr. Fasano said his company manages 275 different sites, many of which are in Suffolk County. Fourteen of the sites are multifamily developments, similar to what is being proposed in Southampton. In total, the organization manages 1,300 units.

For the development in Southampton, Mr. Fasano said, he expects to raise $28 million in grants through programs like the New York State Homes and Community Renewal Program to help fund construction of the project.

Grants do not have to be paid back, Mr. Fasano said, so unlike a typical housing project that gets constructed and has a significant loan afterward, the nonprofit is left with little debt.

“Most of the money is grant money,” he said. “So we have little debt service once the projects are developed.”

Many of the grants are competitive, and according to Mr. Fasano, only one out of four applications get funded throughout the state. But out of the 10 applications for grants that the organization has filed, all have been approved.

Projects like the one planned for Southampton are attractive to profit investors like Citibank and Capital One, Mr. Fasano said. Those investors provide capital for the project and in return, he said, the companies get a 10-year tax credit that equates to a 9- or 10-percent return on their money. “They make a pretty good, almost guaranteed, return,” he added.

Although density will be high, Mr. Fasano said the complex would have its own sewage treatment plant.

Tom Dixon of Nelson and Pope said the sewage treatment system would be on the smaller scale, and allow for a flow of 15,000 gallons per day, while also leaving a smaller footprint and being located primarily underground.

The system, he said, would release less than 10 milligrams per liter of nitrogen into the ground, which conforms to the Suffolk County Health Department’s most recent standards.

Town Board member John Bouvier suggested that a development like what was being proposed could be a model for future apartment or condominium complexes becoming more independent. Having a sewage treatment system on site helps, but Mr. Bouvier said he would also like to see solar panels used to provide power. Mr. Fasano said solar had not been considered for this project, but it could be.

Ms. Scalera suggested Mr. Fasano and his team reach out to members of the community for feedback on the proposal before coming back to the board. Specifically, he was told to reach out to members of the Hillcrest community because of the development’s proximity to the neighborhood, as well as to local Citizen Advisory Committees.

Mr. Fasano is expected to return with community feedback on February 28 at a Town Board work session.