Developer seeks $2.4M from Southampton for all-affordable housing complex in Riverside

Southampton Town is considering awarding $2.4 million to a developer planning affordable apartments in Riverside in the hopes the project will spur revitalization in the hamlet.

The project would be a joint venture between the town and Georgica Green Ventures, which is proposing a 40-unit apartment complex with 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail on Flanders Road, just east of the traffic circle. It’s the first large-scale development proposed in the hamlet since Southampton created a new sewer district there last year.

Of the 40 units proposed in Riverside, there would be two studios, 25 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments that would be affordable in perpetuity, officials said.

“I want to be in Riverside because I want to be the catalyst,” David Gallo, president of Jericho-based Georgica Green Ventures, said during a hearing last week. “I want to be the first to get the foot in the door and set the tone for future development.”

Officials say the new sewer district will encourage development in an impoverished area of Southampton, across the Peconic River from downtown Riverhead. Sewers will also improve water quality by reducing nitrogen runoff into the river.

Gallo wants to tap into the town’s Community Housing Fund and use $2.4 million to purchase three blighted lots at 47, 53 and 57 Flanders Rd., according to Kara Bak, the Southampton director of housing and community development.

Southampton has amassed nearly $31 million in the housing fund since voters approved its creation in 2022, Bak said in an email. Revenue is generated through a 0.5% tax on most real estate transactions and is earmarked for affordable housing.

The units would be reserved for tenants earning between $69,270 and $115,450, which represents 60% to 100% of the area median income for individuals. The area median income for a family of four is $164,900, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines for Long Island.

Based on those figures, rents could range from $1,444 for a studio to $2,969 for a two bedroom.

Skepticism persists

Some residents are skeptical of placing affordable housing in the area.

Chris Sheldon, of Northampton, said the project is “the wrong fix” for what he described as a “forgotten hamlet” of the town. Concentrating "100% affordable apartments in one building," he said, was not "good planning."

“Affordable housing is needed east of the canal to lessen the load of mindless trade parade traffic," Sheldon added, referring to the Shinnecock Canal and desire to see affordable housing farther east into more affluent areas.

But town officials dismissed the notion that affordable housing is being concentrated in Riverside.

To date, the town has allocated about $24 million of community housing funds, primarily on 41 single-family homes and 161 rental units, Bak said, adding 38 of the homes are east of the Shinnecock Canal. Apartments are also planned in Water Mill and Sag Harbor Village, she said.

Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara said potential tenants at the Riverside project would have to meet moderate income guidelines.

“That’s teachers, that’s doctors, that’s nurses, that’s librarians,” she said Tuesday. “This is not low-income housing. … This is not bringing the area down, this is building the area up.”

Riverside plans

A Riverside revitalization plan adopted by the town a decade ago once called for development of up to 2,300 housing units and commercial businesses. But the town is working with Historical Concepts, an Atlanta-based planning firm, to scale back the plan.

A concept presented to the town this spring calls for 967 housing units, 72,500 square feet of commercial development and reconfigured blocks to create a more walkable neighborhood.

“We want to have a mix of market rate and affordable [apartments], single-family homes, town houses, a supermarket, shops, all the things you find in other communities,” Supervisor Maria Moore said in an interview. “Not to overburden the community.”

The intensity of proposed redevelopment in Riverside prompted Riverhead to file a lawsuit against Southampton Town last year. Riverhead said the development would strain town resources and argued Southampton’s new sewer district should serve the nearby Suffolk County Center complex. The Town of Riverhead services the complex, which is in the town of Southampton but has a Riverhead ZIP code.

Southampton filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and a decision is pending.

The construction timeline for Georgica Green Ventures would hinge on approvals and development of the new sewage treatment plant and infrastructure.

Funding for the $44.6 million plant project is in place through county, state and federal grants, officials have said.

Designs are underway, and the town could seek bids for construction in 2026, Moore said in an interview.