Odor prompts move-in delays at East Hampton condo complex

The move-in dates for a 12-unit East Hampton Town affordable housing complex have been delayed for months while the town works to resolve lingering construction issues on the long-awaited project.

Officials heralded the completion of the owner-occupied “manor house” condominium complex on Accabonac Road in December, the first of its kind in the town, and said residents were expected to move in within weeks.

But an appraiser working for a bank lending some mortgages for the units noticed an odor in the basements during an inspection, town officials said in December. The bank said it would require an environmental firm to certify the air quality was acceptable before moving forward with the loans. That has not yet happened.

“I’ve given up saying any date” for move in, said East Hampton housing director Tom Ruhle. “People are being very understanding, but it’s got to be difficult.”

Projects like this one offer an affordable solution for low- and middle-income earners priced out of the Hamptons real estate market, where the median sale price is about $1 million.

Prices for the condo units will range from $126,835 for a one-bedroom unit to $267,850 for a three-bedroom unit, according to the town. Eligible buyers can earn up to 130% of the average median income for Suffolk County, or $112,850 for an individual and $174,100 for a family of five, according to income guidelines from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Affordable housing projects can also take many years to complete, and the manor house is the first affordable complex opened in East Hampton Town since 2012.

Ruhle said the town suspects spray foam insulation in the buildings’ basements is the cause of the latest delay, as the odor appears to be emanating from that level and different insulation was used in other parts of the homes.

Three air tests — two conducted by the town in December and February and one by the developer in April — detected a variety of volatile organic compounds in the buildings. VOCs, which are emitted through gasses and are a common byproduct of new construction, had dissipated in most units by the most recent test. However, one unit remained “out of compliance,” according to a town board resolution.

Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, the board’s affordable housing liaison, said the issue would likely be rectified and that the town was acting out of abundance of caution. She said the town would take the lessons learned in developing the manor house and apply them to other upcoming affordable housing projects.

“I think it’s a beautiful project and I’m just sorry people aren’t in it,” Overby said.

The town board during its online meeting April 30 voted 5-0 to pass a resolution allowing the town attorney to take steps compelling the contractor, JNS Contracting LLC, of Wading River, to remedy the situation. The contractor’s performance bond was set to expire May 1, Overby said.

Representatives from JNS, which was awarded a $2.5 million contract for the project in 2017, could not be reached.

“We’re still hopeful the contractor will fix the problem,” Ruhle said.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.