The-Leader_2008-02-14

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ON THE WATERFRONT: Old marina to, be transformed to towrihouse condos.
by Laura Schofer
An old marina on Ray Street in Freeport will be developed into townhouse condo­miniums. ' .
The development, identified as "afford- • able housing" in a press release, issued by the Community Preservation Corporation, a non-profit affordable housing lender, will include 24 three-story townhomes. '
Each will contain a two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom duplex apartment with a cathe­dral ceiling in the livihg room, a laundry room, two-car garage, deck and boat slip. The property, once zoned for a marina, was rezoned for residential use in 2003.
Each townhouse is expected to sell for $500,000 and will be affordable to fami­lies with ah average annual income of $138,501. -
The property is being developed by Benzion Stiel,' a principal of the South Shore Group, Inc. The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) offers construction, rehab and refinancing loans to developers of multifamily investor-owned housing in New' York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Since its founding in 1974, CPC has invested more than $6.7
billion in more than 147;000units of hous­ing, according to their press release.
CPC describes this project as."affordable housing," because the cost of each unit is below market value, according to-Rebecca Regal, a spokesperson for CPC. "Research was done on the area and town homes are at least $600,000," she said.
However, the median price of a home in Freeport is $449,700, according to the Long Island Board of Realtors.
Mary Brenhan, senior vice president and regional director of CPC's Long Island office, said in a press release that "as Long Island's real estate market continues to thrive, it is especially rewarding to be "able to help the working families of Nassau County become first-time homeowners who would otherwise be priced-out of the area."
Jay T. Korth, a spokesperson for the housing divisipn of Catholic Charities, said, "If you are not using HUD [Housing and Urban Development] funds than you are not precluded from calling any project 'affordable', even if it is just a dollar below market value." Diana Weir, spokesperson for the Long Island Housing Partnership, said, "$500,000 is not affordable housing." The Long Island Housing' Partnership is the largest local non-profit that provides peo-
. pie with information on affordable hous­ing projects, offers technical assistance and counsels homeowners.
Ms. Weir explained that the federal gov­ernment's Housing and • Urban Development ' office (HUD.) defines affordable housing as "housing that costs about 30 percent of the median income in Nassau and Suffolk."
The median income in Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to the U.S. Census, is $93,000 for a family of four.
In Freeport, the median income is $62,572, according to the Long Island
,Board of Realtors.
"A mortgage lender will usually give you two and a half times that median income [number] in a mortgage," said Ms. Weir. She added that even with the state Senate providing $25 million in affordable housing funds and upping the median income to $122,000 for a family of four, "this [project] is still not considered affordable housing." Ms. Weir was not familiar with this project. "Usually devel­opers come to us," she said.
Von Kuhen, a spokesperson for the Community Development Corporation, was also not familiar with this project. "Long Island is very expensive and we've seen affordable housing defined as much as 80 percent to 120 percent of median
income. Homeownership for first-time buyers is difficult," he said. • The Community Development Corporation, which has an office in Freeport, counsels first-time homebuyers as well as provides counselors to help people determine hous­ing affordability.
Mr. Korth added that Catholic Charities provides affordable rentals to couples earning no more than $37,500. "Usually individuals are asked to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. This amount can be as low as $200 or a maximum of $500 a month, which we consider to be afford­able." Catholic Charities provides 25 units of affordable housing in Freeport.
Construction is underway and the town-houses are slated to be finished by the end of 2008, according to CPC spokeswoman Rebecca Regal.
Freeport village government is not involved in this project. Patricia Murphy, village spokesperson, said the village was exploring its own affordable housing proj­ects including a senior housing project.
"Our core mission at CPC is to develop and preserve New York's neighborhoods • by providing necessary affordable housing options to its residents," said Ms. Brennan in a press release, "and we are delighted to be able to do that here in this waterfront community."
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