Work Begins On Long-Awaited Affordable Housing Project in East Hampton

Clearing has begun at the site of East Hampton Town’s long-awaited affordable housing complex on Accabonac Road, and town officials say they hope that at least some of the future residents will be able to move into the building before Thanksgiving 2018.

The town will hold a groundbreaking ceremony next week, months after the project had been hoped to be under way, to officially kick off construction of the town’s first affordable housing project in nearly 10 years.

The site work on the project, which will create 12 condominium apartments in three “manor house” buildings on the 3-acre property, was originally due to begin in July but was held up by architectural review, as well as a review of the compliance with a state home energy rating program, neither of which the town is compelled to seek.

“They were ready to start, but we wanted to make sure everything was followed as if we were a private person doing this project, even though we’re not required to,” Councilwoman Sylvia Overby said. “We understand how long it can take to get a project off the ground, but we thought it was important to adhere to that, as past administrations have done.”

The project is located at 181 Accabonac Road in East Hampton, formerly the Accabonac Tennis Club, which the town purchased in 2008 for $882,000. But the project was caught up in the town’s financial crisis and put on a back burner. It was revived in 2014, though its planning and design still struggled through fits and starts.

Earlier this year, the town awarded a $2.5 million contract to JNS Contracting to lead the construction of the three buildings.

Each structure, modeled to look like a historic manor house, will contain four units, a mix of one, two and three bedrooms.

The town held a lottery last year and has a list of people who will be eligible to purchase the condos when they go up for sale next year, though each potential buyer will still have to qualify for a mortgage.

The final prices for each unit will not be set until construction on the buildings is completed but they are expected to run between $150,000 and $300,000 depending the number of bedrooms.

Clearing at the site began about two weeks ago. Construction of the buildings is expected to take about four to six months once under way.