Affordable housing for LGBT seniors heading to Bay Shore
With many in the real estate community coming together to celebrate Pride Month in June, excavators draped in rainbow flags recently broke ground on a $30 million affordable housing development in Bay Shore, Newsday reported. The project will have 75 units for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) seniors, the first of its kind in the nation, according to the outlet. While the development will be dedicated to the LGBT community, it will also be open to anyone who meets certain age and income requirements. It will also abide by federal fair housing guidelines as well, said David Kilmnick, president and CEO of the LGBT Network, which operates community centers in Queens, Hauppauge and Sag Harbor. Ahead of the build, construction crews tore down the onetime headquarters of the LGBT Network, which last month moved into a new 15,000-square-foot advocacy center in Hauppauge.
The Levittown-based D&F Development Group will build the housing complex, which is being funded by state and federal tax credits, state loans, $1.5 million from Suffolk County and some private investment. One-bedroom units are expected to rent for around $1,000 a month with two-bedrooms going for about $1,700 or more. The units will be available for those older than 55 who earn 50 to 80 percent of the area median income, which for a single-person household on Long Island is between $43,400 to $69,450. Kilmnick said the housing facility is necessary because many members of the LGBT community face discrimination as they age. “It’s such a good feeling to have a facility here like this on Long Island,” Kilmnick said. [Newsday]
West Islip home with a helipad lists at nearly $4M
Amenities for a waterfront West Islip home that just hit the market for almost $4 million include some of the usual fare — such as a boathouse and two-car garage — and one that’s rather unique: a helipad, Newsday reported. The home at 151 Wagstaff Lane, built in 1951, has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, three half-bathrooms, three fireplaces, a home gym and staff quarters. Aviation records show that the private helipad is owned by John Staluppi, an entrepreneur who made his fortune by founding the Atlantic Automotive Group, a car dealership giant. The 1.8-acre property also holds a pool house with an indoor 20-by-44-foot pool with a retractable roof, a hot tub and its own kitchen, as well as a boathouse with 580 feet of water frontage. Edward Kaleck of Ramsay Realtors in Bay Shore has the listing. [Newsday]
Calverton assisted living housing project delayed again
Developer Vincent DiCanio, owner of the Smithtown-based DiCanio Organization, wants to build a housing project in Calverton that would have 135 units for independent living, rent-controlled apartments, assisted living and memory care, Newsday reported. DiCanio has been pushing the project, known as Calverton Manor, for more than 15 years. In 2003, Riverhead adopted a master plan that updated restrictions on land along the Route 25 corridor, where DiCanio hoped to build the project. Two years later, representatives with Calverton Manor sued the town, which won on a majority of its claims in a 2014 appellate court ruling. DiCanio representatives have now asked for a zoning change from the Riverhead Town Board that would allow the Calverton Manor development to finally proceed. Board officials want to consult town residents before giving their approval, DiCanio told Newsday. Board officials want more information about some of the project’s details, such as the number of parking spaces it would require and whether the developer could guarantee the land would only be used for assisted living. The Real Deal reported earlier this year that demand for senior and assisted living facilities is on the rise in the Tri-State area. DiCanio pledged to continue giving information about the project to those who wanted it. “We’re trying to create something that would fit in with Riverhead,” he said. “I think we have achieved that.” [Newsday]
Pending home sales dip in May, but inventory and prices rise
Across Long Island, pending home sales slowed in May, marking the first retreat of the year after four months of gains, Long Island Business New reported, citing data from the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island (MLSLI). Last month, 3,152 homes were contracted for sale in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, a 3.5 percent drop from the 3,264 contracted for sale in May 2018. In Suffolk, pending home sales declined 5.2 percent as the number of homes contracted for sale hit 1,779 last month, a dip from the 1,875 the year before. In Nassau, pending sales fell 1.2 percent, to 1,373 last month, down from 1,389 in May 2018. Despite the dip this past May, overall sales for 2019 have outpaced last year. Between January and May 2018, 12,876 homes were contracted for sale on Long Island. This year, 13,497 homes were contracted for sale during that same period, a nearly 5 percent year-over-year increase. While sales slowed, inventory has risen with 13,265 homes in Nassau and Suffolk counties waiting to be bought, a 7.7 percent spike from May 2018. Nassau saw inventory spike 14.4 percent, compared to a 2.4 percent rise in Suffolk. Meanwhile, median home sale prices have also risen year-over-year, jumping 6.8 percent in Suffolk, to $390,000, and 2.9 percent in Nassau, to $530,000, according to Newsday. The jump in Nassau prices seems to be driving buyers to Suffolk, brokers told the newspaper, as LIBN noted that Suffolk home prices hit their highest mark last month in more than a decade. [TRD]
Huntington Bay home gets price chop to $5M
A 2.25-acre waterfront property in Huntington Bay had its price cut down to $4.999 million, Newsday reported. The home, built in 1999, initially hit the market in June 2017 with a $6.5 million price tag, according to Realtor.com. The property was still listed with that ask last year, per a previous ranking from Patch looking at some of the top home on the Long Island market. The home at 6 Wincoma Drive has seven bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms and a pool, as well as a cottage with two bedrooms and a single bathroom. The property has 200 feet of water frontage with views of the nearby Huntington Harbor Lighthouse, a historic edifice formerly known as the Lloyd Harbor Lighthouse. The property last changed hands in October 1996 for $1.45 million, according to Realtor.com. Risa Ziegler and Jyll Kata of Douglas Elliman have the current listing. [Newsday]
Co-working comes to Syosset with GrabSuite
GrabSuite, a new shared office space provider, has set up shop in 12,000 square feet of space at 125 Michael Drive in Syosset, Long Island Business News reported. The venture, the latest in a series of co-working enterprises opening in suburban markets in the Tri-State region, is the product of the Great Neck-based husband-and-wife team of Benny and Dorita Faizzadeh and Dr. Ben Mokhtar and his wife, Penina. The foursome are all emigrants from Iran, according to LIBN, which noted that Benny Faizzadeh is an architect and engineer familiar with shared working space environments thanks to his work on similar build-outs for Philips International at its offices in Great Neck, Garden City and Manhattan. The Faizzadehs also operate MTI Solutions, a company that provides low voltage infrastructure — such as computer networks, lighting and phone systems — to commercial and residential properties. The Faizzadehs and Mokhtar have previously partnered on other real estate projects in Brooklyn and Queens, and the quartet behind GrabSuite hope to expand their business to other areas on Long Island, such as Mineola. Frank Zuckerbrot, the Faizzadeh’s landlord in Syosset and a principal at Long Island City-based Sholom & Zuckerbrot Realty, collaborated with the GrabSuite group on renovating the Michael Drive space. [LIBN] — Brian Baxter