Summerwind breezing along
Back to back approvals
2 comments below
Summerwind building proposed for Peconic Avenue.
Developer Ray Dickhoff's project, called Summerwind, received approval, with no conditions, from the Suffolk County Planning Commission last Wednesday, and unanimous site plan approval from the Riverhead Town Board the following day.
The next step is for the Suffolk County Legislature to approve the funding to make the rentals affordable. That measure was not on the agenda at Tuesday's meeting of the Legislature, according to an aide to Legislator Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches).
"As soon as the county gives us the go-ahead, we'll start immediately," Mr. Dickhoff said, adding that he expects construction to take about 10 months.
The 45,000-square-foot project calls for a 100-seat restaurant and 5,700 square feet of retail space on the first floor, with the apartments on the top four floors.
Summerwind is one of two new projects planned for the Peconic Avenue area. The largely empty building at the southeast corner of East Main Street and Peconic Avenue is being turned into a restaurant with four duplex apartments. Mr. Dickhoff is overseeing construction on that project. (See story, page 24.)
Patrick "Skip" Heaney, the county's commissioner of economic development and work force housing, as well as a former Southampton Town supervisor, has already publicly stated his support for the Summerwind project. But it was not immediately clear when the County Legislature would get to vote on approving the all-important rental subsidies. In order to qualify for that funding, the county requires that at least 20 percent of the units be affordable housing, now referred to in the county as work force housing.
"This building is 100 percent," Mr. Dickhoff said. "All 52 units will be work force housing."
To qualify to rent the apartments, applicants' incomes would have to be no higher than 80 percent of median income for the area. That works out to about $54,000 for one person, Mr. Dickhoff said, adding that those rental restrictions are permanent.
Mr. Dickhoff said he plans to charge $1,100 per month for one person, which he said is lower than the maximum the county would permit. The complex will have only one-bedroom apartments.
The Town Board also must pass a resolution waiving certain building fees for the project, a requirement the county imposed as a show of town support for the project. That resolution has yet to be voted on.
Mr. Dickhoff plans to demolish the aging Club 91 building and a small, ramshackle building next to it in order to make room for the apartment tower.
tgannon@timesreview.com
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2 comments found
Affortable Apts in Riverhead : 9/11/2009
I hope that Mr. Dickhoff plans to build affortable housing will take affect. So many people need help in this economy. This will open doors to so many families, here in Riverhead a great place to live. I'm hoping this gets done A.S.A.P.
Thursday Rant : 5/14/2009
Time will tell if Ray will be the man to put downtown Riverhead back on the map. But w/ no progress on the Suffolk Theatre, a vacant center of Main St, and Dede Gottheff's Riverside project tied up in court, Summerwind is going to have very little company to start. Work on fixing these problems would have been better spending of the stimulus $ than a bike path!
