Housing

Hauppauge, NY – Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy today announced the approval of the acquisition of land for two innovative revitalization developments that will bring residents back into downtown Riverhead and Bay Shore.

Legislation sponsored by Levy was approved today for the purchase of land to accommodate the developments of Summer Wind Square in Riverhead and Cortland Square in Bay Shore.

“Vibrant downtowns are one of the keys to our county’s economic viability, and these two developments will bring residents back into our downtown corridors to patronize shops, restaurants and businesses,” said Levy.

Summer Wind Square

Suffolk will acquire three adjacent parcels on the east side of Peconic Avenue, just south of Main Street, for $1.96 million to host the 8,600-square-foot, $10 million mixed-use development that will play a vital role in the revitalization of downtown Riverhead. The county will also provide $313,000 in infrastructure improvements to the site.

“This type of public-private initiative has worked for other downtowns, such as Patchogue, and Suffolk is committed to providing the land, along with infrastructure improvements needed to make this plan a reality,” said Levy. “Summer Wind Square is a development that will bring retail – and residents – back into downtown Riverhead.”

The multi-story building will feature 52 affordable rental units on the upper floors, with street-level retail and commercial shops as well as a restaurant.

The rental units will be targeted for households under 80% of the HUD area median income limits, and the development has received the support of the Riverhead Town Board and Suffolk Planning Commission.

Cortland Square

In Bay Shore, the county will acquire a 2.4-acre parcel on the corner of Park Avenue and Mechanicsville Road for $1.5 million, which will be used for a 40-unit affordable housing complex.

Twenty of the units will be available to families earning less than 80 percent of median income, and the other 20 units will be available to families earning up to 120 percent of median income.

Levy explained that the median income varies by family size: “A family of four can earn up to approximately $81,000 for the 80 percent portion of affordable housing and up to $122,000 for the 120 percent portion,” Levy said. “So it’s clear that this development is geared for our middle class and young people who are looking to stay on Long Island but cannot afford the typical three-bedroom ranch for $350,000.”

The home prices for the two and three bedroom units in Cortland Square will range between $165,000 and $250,000, and the county has partnered with the Town of Islip and the Long Island Housing Partnership.

Levy’s aggressive workforce housing agenda includes fast-tracked permitting, infrastructure improvements and county land acquisition – in order to keep rentals and home prices affordable. This year the legislature has already approved two workforce developments in Patchogue – New Village, on the former site of Sweezey’s department store, and ArtSpace – and past Levy initiatives include the 80-home Copper Beech Village, also in downtown Patchogue, the Cottages at Mattituck and Sandy Hollow Cove in Tuckahoe.

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June 25, 2010

$1 Million Available in 2010; Annual Program Helped 112 Buyers Last Year, including Coram Mother/Navy Vet

Hauppauge, NY – Hopeful first-time home buyers in Suffolk may be eligible for as much as $14,000 in down payment assistance from Suffolk County through a $1 million program that helps buyers clear that last hurdle towards homeownership.

According to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, the county’s HOME consortium program helped 112 first-time home buyers in 2009 and more than 1,100 homeowners since its inception. “This $1 million in federal HOME aid for 2010 is the highest amount Suffolk has allocated, matching the amounts of the last two years, and provides an important stimulus to the housing market at this time,” said Levy. “More significantly, this program helps our working families achieve the American Dream of homeownership here in Suffolk County.”

Levy was joined at a press conference Friday by Brenda Powell of Coram, a Navy veteran and single mother of a college-aged daughter who purchased her condominium with assistance from the program last year.

“This program is the best thing that has ever happened to me in all my life,” an ebullient Ms. Powell told reporters. “Owning my own home is a dream come true, and it could not have happened without Suffolk County.”

Upon taking office in 2004, Levy lobbied the federal government to double the maximum allowable grant for this region as well as to change the maximum appraised value for a qualifying home from $279,000 to $363,000, in recognition of the high cost of housing in the area. The program provides 75% of a down payment on the purchase of a home, condo or co-op, up to $14,000 (excluding closing costs).

Eligibility is determined by the Suffolk County Community Development Office based upon family size and gross annual income in accordance with HUD standards of 80% of the Nassau-Suffolk Area Median Income. Under the guidelines, a family of two can make as much as $66,000, and a family of four as much as $82,000, and still be eligible. (See below)

The program is open to prospective home buyers in the Suffolk County HOME Consortium area, which incorporates nearly all of the county with the exception of the towns of Babylon and Islip (which run their own down payment programs) and incorporated villages in the towns of Southold and Shelter Island.

Applications will be mailed out beginning June 28 and will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Those interested in receiving an application can contact the Suffolk County Community Development Office at 631-853-5705.

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