New Patchogue apartments will offer luxury housing on Main Street

Patchogue Village is going luxe with a swanky new apartment complex where rents will range from $3,500 to $7,500 when the development opens in 2027. 

Construction has started on the 262-unit Carriage House, a development nine years in the making on West Main Street across from Blue Point Brewing Co. The apartments will be located on 4 acres, replacing a mix of industrial, mixed-use and retail properties.

The apartments, located about one-half mile from the village's train station, will add housing in one of Long Island’s fastest-growing downtowns, where tens of millions of dollars in public and private investment over the past 30 years has transformed formerly vacant Main Street storefronts into restaurants, bars, retailers and housing.

At a time when Suffolk home prices are at record levels, Carriage House is creating housing in a downtown area well-suited to multifamily development, Republican Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said Monday morning at an event marking the project's start. 

"I'm hoping if we increase the supply, we'll meet the demand, and prices will level off, and more people, particularly young people, can afford to stay here and live here," Romaine said. ​​​​​​

Joseph Rossi, co-founder and managing partner at developer Nord Development Group in Farmingdale, said in an interview that the rental vacancy rate in the village has averaged about 3% in the past five years, which gives his company and its partner, investment firm Acre, confidence they will find tenants quickly.

"That tells us there is an enormous need for housing in this market," he said. 

The $160 million development will include 53 income-restricted units, which will be awarded through a lottery before the four-story buildings open in phases in 2027. 

About half of the 53 affordable units will be available to tenants earning up to 80% of area median income, which is $92,350 or $105,550 for a couple. The other half of the affordable units will allow incomes up to 120% of the area median income, or $138,500 for a single tenant and $158,300 for a couple. Those federal limits vary by household size and are updated annually.

Rents in those units are projected to range from $2,157 for a studio to $4,240 for a two-bedroom, which meet the federal standard for affordability. That standard requires housing costs to take up no more than 30% of a household's gross income.

Market-rate units will range from $3,500 for a studio with a den to $7,500 for the priciest few upgraded two-bedroom units. Rossi expects the average unit to rent for about $4,100 a month.

Amenities at Carriage House will include two pool decks, two fitness centers with Pilates and spin rooms, club rooms with bars and private coworking space.

Rossi said the goal is to appeal to Long Island retirees and young professionals who prefer to rent.

"Folks that sell 2,000-, 3,000-square-foot homes, you go and supercharge your retirement," Rossi said. “[If] you don’t want to spend a million bucks on a condo, you could now rent in our building and live in a place where you can still have Thanksgiving."

To develop Carriage House, Nord acquired nine parcels that included several storefronts with a beauty supply store, a deli and an auto body shop as well as the repair shop Tomar Automotive and a metal fabrication plant. The development's two buildings will rise  on opposite banks of the Patchogue River, which the developer cleaned up before starting construction, removing more than 1,000 unrecycled tires. 

In addition to the housing, Nord will build a public riverwalk, a community park and office space for the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce. The developer's plan to convert a blighted section of the village into housing won over Suffolk County Legis. Dominick Thorne, he said. 

"I'm not a big fan of putting apartments everywhere, said Thorne, a Patchogue Republican.. "I want open space and beautiful waters. I want to protect our water quality, but we're removing a blighted area that had its own contaminants, so this is why you support this."

Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri, a Democrat,  said he appreciated that the developer incorporated the village’s feedback to reduce the height of the buildings, add more parking and nod to the community's industrial past with its design. A portion of Carriage House features a red brick facade with a glass garage door in homage to the metal fabrication plant, which once served as a trolley house. 

"It’s going to put the foot traffic on the street that you need to make a downtown prosperous," Pontieri said.

Asked about the pricey rents, Pontieri said the building would help young families who can afford those prices but don’t have the tens of thousands needed for a down payment on a house. The median household income in Suffolk County was nearly $127,000 in 2024, census data show. 

"For young couples, many of them have the kinds of jobs that help them afford the rent," he said. 

Boost from public aid

State and local government agencies helped fund the project.

Empire State Development, New York’s economic development agency, awarded the developer $8 million from its Long Island Investment Fund, a $350 million initiative to spur economic growth. The funding supported infrastructure improvements and sewer upgrades, which will benefit other downtown businesses.

The Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency provided $29.1 million in tax breaks to the developer. That included a $4.5 million sales tax exemption, a nearly $776,000 mortgage recording tax exemption and $23.7 million in tax savings through a 17-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement, according to an analysis from Manhattan-based Grow America, an economic development nonprofit hired by Brookhaven IDA. 

The analysis found Carriage House will pay more than $21 million in PILOT payments during that time. Even after the tax breaks, that's $16.4 million more than what the previous property owners would have paid. 

Rossi said the project would not have been feasible without government support. He said the cost of construction, including labor, materials and insurance, increased 40% after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the benefits helped keep the project viable.

"Without the Brookhaven IDA and without the state’s help, we didn’t have a deal," Rossi said. "It’s just not possible to do in this economic environment." 

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.