Brookhaven approves affordable housing seen as key to revitalizing North Bellport

A 96-unit affordable housing apartment complex seen as key to redevelopment in long-blighted North Bellport is expected to open to its first residents in 2028.

The Brookhaven Town Board, acting as the planning board, voted 6-0 Thursday to approve design plans and special permits for the $55 million project, called Alegria South.

Brookhaven officials and civic leaders have touted Alegria South as a catalyst for revitalization in the hamlet, which lags behind most of Suffolk County in household income.

Median household income was $100,247 from 2020-24, compared to $130,686 countywide, according to U.S. Census figures.

The development, at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Atlantic Avenue, is one of several housing projects planned in North Bellport, including one comprising 32 houses with accessory apartments on Ecke Avenue.

Alegria South's developer, The D&F Development Group, of Levittown, previously built the 70-unit Gleneagle Green affordable housing project in North Bellport.

Units available through lottery

Last year, state officials announced $4.5 million in grants from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs to fund park upgrades in the hamlet, improvements to the railroad station, new street lighting and the Ecke Avenue development.

D&F Development principal Peter Florey said annual rents at Alegria South will range from $1,400 to $2,000 for one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. The 96 units will be spread across four buildings on the 4.79-acre property, he said. 

Construction will take about two years, with the first residents arriving in fall 2028. Most units will be available through a lottery, Florey added.

Some units will be reserved for veterans and developmentally disabled people, he said.

Alegria South will include a community kitchen and residents-only recreational area, town Planning Director Donald Hohn said.

The new housing promises "a restoration of dignity" in North Bellport, a community of about 12,000 people that often has been ignored by developers, said Star Ella, a member of the Greater Bellport Coalition civic group, which supports Alegria South.

"I want to thank Mr. Florey for taking a chance on this community," she said.

Scrutiny for tax breaks

But some who spoke at Thursday's hearing expressed concern that tax breaks granted for the project by the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency would hurt the beleaguered South Country school district.

The IDA granted a benefits package including payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, that reduce annual property taxes on the site for 30 years. Tax payments escalate annually until the property owner is required to pay taxes in full.

The tax breaks "would put a strain on our district," Nancy Poulos, a retired South Country district clerk, told the board. "We are struggling."

Brookhaven Councilman Neil Manzella agreed that the tax breaks could be "potentially harmful" to the district, though he voted in favor of the project.

Florey responded during the hearing that PILOT payments helped cut construction costs and hold down rent prices. Without tax breaks, "these projects simply would not happen," he said.

In an interview after the meeting, Florey said his company currently pays "a couple of thousand dollars" annually in property tax for the parcel, adding the firm will pay "significantly" more than that in each year of the PILOT payment schedule.

Before the meeting, Councilman Michael Loguercio said Alegria South should help make North Bellport more affordable for residents.

“This is going to be a wonderful project because it’s going to be a very new build-out that will provide affordable housing to keep people in the community,” Loguercio said, adding that plans call for a new supermarket and bank in the hamlet. "It’s going to afford people the opportunity to live and work in the community."