VHB assisting Concern for Independent Living with $21 million multifamily development in Amityville

Veterans and families can expect more housing options in Suffolk County in 2013. Thanks to the town of Babylon, local leaders, residents, veterans' groups, the Federal Government, and a leading nonprofit provider of supportive housing, the roughly 16 acres of federal land, formerly home to the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve Center will be developed into a $21 million multifamily development, primarily for homeless veterans and their families. The 16-acre property will be subdivided into three parcels: a 5.35-acre parcel dedicated to the town of Babylon for a park, a 6.45-acre central parcel for 60 handicapped-accessible, condo-style units, and a 3.84-acre eastern parcel to be owned and operated by Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. Concern for Independent Living, the Medford-based nonprofit developing the project and who operates 200 supportive housing projects in New York, was selected to develop the 60 multi-resident dwellings. Known as Concern Amityville, the project was funded with over $12 million in funding from Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, on top of $1.2 million funding committed as part of the economic development package awarded by New York State to Long Island for transformative projects. Astoria Federal Savings, a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, recently awarded a $1 million grant to help finance the construction of Concern Amityville. The project is slated to break ground late this year and is expected to be completed by Spring 2014. What does the master redevelopment plan of the federal property involve? Forty-eight, one-bedroom dwellings and 12 two-bedroom dwellings, arranged in four, two-story buildings to be occupied on a rental basis. Veterans will enjoy semi-private yards, on-site laundry facilities, and access to support services at an adjacent Community Resource Center. Support services, including goal planning, assistance with daily living skills, parenting training and assistance, crisis intervention, and supported employment, will be provided on and off-site. United Veterans Beacon House will join Concern in providing services and opportunities for the veterans living in this housing. "VHB was proud to be part of Concern's team, providing site/civil engineering and environmental review services," said Rick Dupuis, PE, director of land development at VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C. (VHB). "In fact, one of VHB's key staff members on the project is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, so the project hit close to home." VHB offered Concern guidance on transportation, parking, permitting, and zoning. One zoning challenge called for a change from the prevailing B Residence zoning district to the MR Multiple Residence district of the town of Babylon. In June, the zoning request went before the town and local residents came out in support. The plan had full support of the town. As Tom Ruggeri, town spokesman, said the project "balances the needs of the community with the needs of Veterans who need a place to live." As the project breaks ground, veterans, who served our country with honor, are one step closer to having access to a $21 million supportive housing residence complex on Long Island.