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Town of Southampton Working on "Multiparty" Plan to Acquire USCG Housing Tract Before September 6 Public Auction TOM GOGOLA
A long-anticipated auction of 14 acres of former U.S. Coast Guard housing located off Stewart Avenue in Westhampton was rescheduled again this week from August 21 to September 6 — but now, officials say the auction may not be necessary at all, if a Town of Southampton-led plan to acquire the property is approved by the General Services Administration.
The town and GSA have put a pause on the public sale, said GSA spokesman Paul Hughes, “to provide an opportunity for the town to formalize their interest in acquiring the property.”
The town has assembled a multiparty group “that is trying to put together a package that would be accepted by the Coast Guard,” said Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman. “We’re interested, under certain conditions,” in acquiring the parcel, he said.
Schneiderman said he has “asked for an assist” from Governor Kathy Hochul and U.S. Representative Nick LaLota, and that there was a potential for Suffolk County, the state and local government to put together a package “to make it affordable,” although Schneiderman said he couldn’t disclose any information about a possible sale price under discussion. Opening bids for the property were to start at $5 million.
The private sector would play a role in the town effort to provide housing opportunities to those of moderate means. Schneiderman said that Georgica Green Ventures is in the multiparty group now assembled to see if a deal can be worked out.
According to its LinkedIn page, the Jericho-based company “specializes in the development, construction and property management of workforce housing that incorporates retail and office space, gardens, playgrounds, resident lounges and more.” It has worked with the town on previous affordable housing ventures.
Under the plan in the works, half of the 52 housing units on the site would be put on the market and sold, and half would be rented, said Schneiderman. The site features 14 acres that contains 24 two-family duplexes, two single-family units and an office-workshop-residence. There’s a playground and open space areas, too.
The town had made a previous offer on the site in 2020 that was rejected by the government.
The latest gambit is different, Schneiderman said: “This would not be the town purchasing the property.”
Instead, the town would, “on a per-unit basis, provide a grant via the Community Housing Fund,” he said.
That new fund levies a half-percent real estate transfer tax on home sales, with the express purpose of using the revenue to build affordable housing.
Residents of the adjacent Hampton West residential community near the Coast Guard site have been clear that they don’t want to see low-income housing developed at the site — and Schneiderman made clear this week that there wouldn’t be any under the multiparty plan being spearheaded by the town.
“This is not a low-income project at all, but a moderate-income one,” Schneiderman said, noting that the group was looking to put together a package that was “100 percent” aligned with the area mean income. The AMI in this part of Westhampton, according to a searchable Fannie Mae database, is $116,300.
The town has two weeks to pull together an acceptable pitch to the GSA. “If a purchase agreement with the Town of Southampton cannot be not reached,” said Hughes, “the property will proceed to public auction” on September 6.
