Developer makes pitch for Calverton Manor housing development for seniors
Manor Road and Route 25 in Calverton is seen in this aerial shot, looking east. Calverton Manor has been proposed for a corner of this intersection and would contain housing units for a combination of independent living, rent-controlled apartments, assisted living and memory care. Credit: Google Maps
Calverton residents said they want more time to decide whether a proposed 135-unit senior assisted living development belongs in their community.
Vincent DiCanio, a developer who owns the DiCanio Organization in Smithtown, was at a Wednesday meeting of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, pitching a proposal for Calverton Manor, a development for the corner of Manor Road and Route 25 that would contain housing units for a combination of independent living, rent-controlled apartments, assisted living and memory care.
Representatives for Calverton Manor LLC sued the town in 2005 after the town’s 2003 master plan was updated with new restrictions on land use along the Route 25 corridor. The town won a majority of the claims in a 2014 ruling from a State Supreme Court judge.
Project representatives have asked the Riverhead Town Board for a change of zone to allow the project to go forward. DiCanio said Wednesday the board had told him it would consider supporting the development only if Calverton residents were OK with it.
However, civic members said Wednesday they were still unclear about several details pertaining to the project, including the number of parking spaces the development would require and whether it was guaranteed the land would only ever be used for assisted living space.
Janice Sherer, a Calverton resident, said she opposed the project.
“I don’t think this is an appropriate location, based on the zoning there,” she told DiCanio. “Why aren’t you respecting the zoning there today and developing sites in need of new development instead of going to a greenfield where it’s inappropriate?”
Developer Vincent DiCanio told residents at a civic association meeting that the development is necessary to provide seniors with closer local housing options. Credit: Newsday/Jean-Paul Salamanca
DiCanio told residents the development was necessary to provide seniors with closer local housing options, and he would continue to try to work with residents to get their feedback if they give their support for the project.
“We’re trying to create something that would fit in with Riverhead,” DiCanio said. “I think we have achieved that.”
Group members voted to have a project representative come back for another meeting at a later date to present more information on the development before the civic group makes a final decision.
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