Adam Potter Shrinks Sag Harbor Affordable Housing Project

Adam Potter is taking another shot at developing affordable housing in Sag Harbor, but a lot less of it.

Potter announced plans to develop a site bounded by Bridge and Rose streets behind Main Street, 27East reported. He has yet to file them with the village.

Where Potter once planned 79 housing units, all affordable, he is instead angling for 39 on the top two floors of a three-story building. Moreover, they would be condos instead of rentals, and only 19 of the units would be designated affordable.

The scaleback follows a familiar script on Long Island, and in most non-urban locations for that matter, with locals reacting negatively to the idea of low-income tenants moving in and developers scaling back plans in response.

“I’ve listened to the various concerns of the Sag Harbor community,” Potter said last Friday. “I’ve heard people. I’ve heard their concerns. I’ve listened.”

His project would also have 10,000 to 11,000 square feet on the ground floor.

Another building in the development would span 40,000 square feet. It would be a community site with a performance space, classrooms, a youth center, an art gallery, a museum and offices for nonprofits.

There will also be a small park between the buildings for public use.

The development would be a consolation prize for Potter, who sparked local opposition with the plans he floated last June. That project would have significantly boosted affordable housing in the Hamptons, but was savaged by members of the community.

A few months ago, a judge blocked Sag Harbor’s affordable housing measures, essentially hitting pause on Potter’s proposal. Prior to that, a group called Save Sag Harbor filed a lawsuit to block the project, arguing the village took shortcuts on an environmental review.

Potter never managed to break ground on the $70 million, 106,000-square-foot development. Two partners backed out, citing economic conditions, though backlash from neighbors may have played a role.

Even with the proposal cut down to size, Potter could still struggle to develop the site in an area geared toward single-family homes. He needs variances to put a theater in an office district, to have commercial space exceeding 10,000 square feet and to build even the smaller the number of units.

“I’m looking at this as a project that is going to add incredible resources and benefits and is vitally important for Sag Harbor,” Potter said.

— Holden Walter-Warner