Clearing and other site activity for Cantwell Court, the planned affordable-housing subdivision at 395 Pantigo Road in East Hampton, is to begin as soon as next week. This will be the second ownership opportunity in the town’s initiative to create affordable housing for residents.
Eric Schantz, director of the town’s Office of Housing and Community Development, told the town board on Tuesday that all permits are in place to begin, except for a building permit for the roadwork, which should be in hand this week.
Sixteen individuals or families are to be selected from a list created prior to a 2017 lottery, which determined the order in which hopeful homebuyers would be screened for eligibility. The same list was used to select buyers for the 12 Manor House condominium apartments on Accabonac Road in East Hampton, the town’s first ownership opportunity. There are now 125 names on the list, which is closed.
. In March, Mr. Schantz said, the town will issue a request for proposals for house model designs. “Basically, we’re looking for contractors to come up with a range of home prices and home sizes for the potential future homeowners,” he said. The intent is to create opportunities for families to own a house, and “we want to have a range of sizes that they can choose from.”
Between two and four contractors will be selected and asked to offer two, three, and four-bedroom designs ranging from just over 600 square feet to 1,500. Gross floor area will be limited to 10 percent of lot area. “The idea here is to keep the homes modest in size and affordable,” Mr. Schantz said. “Also, part of this is a matter of aesthetics and community character.”
The houses are to have full basements, washer/dryer hookups, and Andersen 400 or similar windows. They will be all-electric, in keeping with the town’s green energy standards and goals.
Eligible buyers can make no more than 130 percent of the area median income, as set by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The town will retain ownership of the underlying land, but the buyers will own their houses. This will help keep the selling price low, Mr. Schantz said.
The rear of the property features 5.87 acres of forever-protected open space, which is to be open to the public and accessible via a 50-foot-wide strip from Montauk Highway or a 10-foot-wide pedestrian access from Cantwell Court, named for former Supervisor Larry Cantwell.
To date, the road right of way and vehicle and material staging areas have been staked out. Responses to a request for proposals for roadway construction are due today, and Mr. Schantz’s department will recommend a contractor to the board as soon as next Thursday. Clearing for roadway construction could begin the following week. The town will have to meet a Feb. 29 deadline to complete site clearing, due to the possible presence of the northern long-eared bat, which the Fish and Wildlife Service lists as endangered.
Road construction is to begin as soon as March and be completed by the fall, when utilities are scheduled to be installed. “Right now, the property is basically ready for physical activity and physical work to commence,” Mr. Schantz said.
Officials will go through the list of eligible buyers during the spring and summer, Mr. Schantz said, and identify “financially viable” persons — those who can obtain a mortgage. At that point, construction could begin. “A lot of this involves coordinating with individuals who are going to be the homeowners to choose contractors, choose a home model, and begin development on those individual lots,” he said. This is unlikely to happen before autumn.
Those on the list can contact the town’s Office of Housing and Community Development to determine their place on the list. A page on the town’s website dedicated to that office is being updated, Mr. Schantz said.
