Riverhead Welcomes Peconic Crossing Apartments

Peconic Crossing, a new affordable housing apartment building has opened on West Main Street in Riverhead. Conifer Realty, a Rochester-based developer specializing in affordable housing communities, partnered with Community Development Corporation of Long Island for the $18.3 million project that celebrated its official completion on November 19.

The building contains a total of 45 energy-efficient apartments, split among one and two-bedroom units, with 40 designated as affordable housing. The Community Development Corporation of Long Island, which contributed $200,000 to the project, held a lottery in June to rank the more than 900 applications for the apartments. Aiming to service the community and those in need, lottery preference was given to New Yorkers displaced by storms Sandy, Irene, and Lee — about 1340 rental units in Suffolk County were damaged by these storms in 2011 and 2012. As part of an effort to revitalize Riverhead, local artists were given preference as well.

Peconic Crossing has no residential units on the ground floor, and the building was designed to be capable of withstanding another storm of Sandy’s magnitude.

The project is part of a $20 billion plan to combat homelessness across New York State.

Peconic Crossing is a pet friendly, smoke-free, green building accessible for people of all abilities with easy access to public transportation. In addition to the apartments, there is a fully equipped fitness room, laundry center, 24-hour emergency maintenance, professional on-site management, a community room and 40 on-site parking spaces.

Adjacent to Grangebel Park, which recently underwent a $1 million federal funding upgrade, the complex is steps away from the best Riverhead has to offer. In addition to a vibrant dining and social scene, it’s in close proximity to the Long Island Science Center, Peconic Ballet Theatre, and Suffolk Theater.

East End Arts, also located in Riverhead, will manage a first-floor art gallery at the new development, switching out exhibitions every three months and allowing an opportunity for community and resident artists to showcase their work.

Shawn Hirst, executive director of East End Arts, said, “As a 46-year-old arts organization, East End Arts is proud to partner on such an exciting new development in the town of Riverhead. The arts are a vital component in helping to spur economic growth and revitalization. East End Arts looks forward to running the gallery space in Peconic Crossing. We are excited to support these artists in their continued growth.”

CDCLI aids Long Islanders in achieving affordable homes in vibrant communities, helping more than 220,000 residents and investing a total of $1.45 billion. Funding for Peconic Crossing came in from several avenues, both government and private organizations. For example, $4.5 million came from a Community Development Block Grant/Disaster Recovery Funding from the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, $10 million in equity from federal low-income housing tax credits, nearly $2.9 million from the Community Development Trust, $67,500 from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, $275,000 from Empire State Development, and $350,000 from Suffolk County.

Visit www.coniferllc.com or call 631-830-6402 for more information.

nicole@indyeastend.com