New affordable housing plan pitched on Carroll Ave. in Peconic

The developers behind the failed Cutchogue Woods development have a new pitch for affordable housing at a location that has since been zoned for that use: Carroll Ave. in Peconic.

In a joint venture, Southold resident Rona Smith’s Housing Initiative LLC and Jericho-based Georgica Green Ventures, LLC propose to build 32 affordable, for-sale units on a town-owned parcel on Carroll Ave. Ms. Smith said plans currently call for eight buildings which would house 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units that would all be owned rather than rented.

David Gallo, founder of Georgica Green Ventures, has worked on various affordable housing projects throughout Suffolk County. Ms. Smith is the former chair of Southold’s affordable housing committee. 

“It’s hard to make plans for the future and to dream unless you know you have permanent, safe housing,” Ms. Smith said. “It’s something that I think is really important, and I’ve really dedicated myself to it for a long time.”

Earlier this year, a development proposal on the town-owned property provoked pushback  from Carroll Ave. residents, who expressed their concerns at a March public hearing, which covered the plan to split the lot in two, creating separate parcels designated for affordable housing and recreation. The following month, a divided Town Board approved the measure, which created a 5-acre affordable housing district. That same evening, local developer Paul Pawlowski withdrew his proposal for an affordable rental housing project at the site. At the time, he told The Suffolk Times, he “no longer had the stamina” for combating a “NIMBY mentality” at public hearings regarding any new development in the area.

In response to Mr. Pawlowski’s withdrawn proposal, the board, in a similarly split decision, issued an RFP to develop the affordable portion of the property.

The board revealed at  their meeting Tuesday that Mr. Gallo and Ms. Smith’s was the only proposal they received for the affordable housing development.

“In previous years, RFPs for affordable housing have been issued, but there’s really no incentive in them for the most part,” Ms. Smith said. “I think it’s significant that nobody else applied for this.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, the Town Board remained consistently divided on matters relating to affordable housing on Carroll Ave.. In two 4-2 decisions, the board accepted Mr. Gallo and Ms. Smith’s proposal and agreed  to the sale of the 5-acre property for $500,000, subject to approval of a final development plan. As in the March and April votes, Councilmember Louisa Evans and Town Supervisor Scott Russell, who has just days left in his 18-year tenure, dissented. 

In a 4-2 decision back in August 2022,the Town Board voted to block a zoning change that Mr. Gallo and Ms. Smith needed to proceed with their previous affordable housing proposal for the parcel, Cutchogue Woods, which would have consisted of 24 townhouse-style rental units. But because the zoning has since been changed to allow for affordable housing at the site, that hurdle no longer needs to be cleared. The developers y must now secure additional approvals, which will include a public hearing on a variance to allow for 32 units on the property as well as  site plan approval.

Because the developers are seeking public funds to complete the project, anyone — not just residents and workers employed within Southold Town — can apply to purchase one of the 32 units.

“This is a happy event and it’s really a celebration of something happening, this really will happen,” she said. “I think it can get ready to live in a year from now, because we use modular units and a lot of the stumbling blocks have been removed.”