The next step for Alegria South, said D&F Development Group principal Peter Florey, “is to get building permits to close on the construction financing and then we’ll start. We’re hoping that will take place October/November of this year.”
Florey was referring to the 96-unit affordable-housing apartment complex intersecting Montauk Highway and Atlantic Avenue, in North Bellport.
Brookhaven Town’s Planning Board unanimously approved the design plans and special permits last month.
“It’s closer to a $60 million project now,” Florey said in a recent phone interview.
“It’s not just the 96 residential units,” Florey added. “There will be a catering establishment run by Chara’s Kitchen & Catering, currently being run by Shiloh Community Church pastor Earl Grigg’s daughter, Chara. It will be in a separate building on the property that will include a small community space.”
The apartments will exist within four buildings. Rents range between $1,400 and $2,000 for one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.
Chara’s is a full-service catering company; her business, once in the Alegria building, will offer catering off-site, Florey said.
The new affordable-housing apartments will join the Gleneagle Green units nearby. “It’s doing great,” Florey said of the complex next to the Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area. “There was a lot of demand for those apartments, and we felt there would be a big interest in these new residential units.”
Over 500 applications were submitted for the 70-unit Gleneagle Green complex, a $30 million project, on Atlantic Avenue, Florey had said, with most coming from the Bellport area or within a 5-to-10-mile radius.
Florey said he hopes to open Alegria South sometime in the fall of 2028.
“About six months before we are finished and ready to deliver, we’ll do an outreach and an extensive marketing program in the community, followed by a lottery process similar to Gleneagle,” he said. “Then, prospective residents will be put on a list in the lottery and that will establish a waitlist.”
Local residents would be used in Alegria South’s construction. “We had about 50 people locally who worked with us on Gleneagle.”
The income vetting process “will be similar to the Gleneagle income limitation with different levels, 50 and 70 percent of the area income,” he said.
In addition, Florey pointed to the Long Island Housing Partnership’s project. “They’re also in the process of building 32 new affordable homes for sale with accessory units on Ecke Avenue,” he said. “They needed to tie into a sewer, and we’re building one between Weaver Road and Davidson Avenue north of Atlantic Avenue. We had just enough excess capacity for them to tie into [a] treatment plant, or they would have had to only build eight homes.”
It’s been a consistent local push for well over two decades to turn a rundown area into a vibrant place for families and shops. Greater Bellport Coalition, led by Joann Neal, Regina Crawford, John Rogers and other members, has stayed on their mission to revitalize the area.
“Now we are able to provide nice things without gentrification,” former GBC president John Rogers stated.
“Gleneagle Green is beautiful, and this new project is accessible to families making $40 to $50,000 a year.”
Grants helped make the projects happen.”
The community received a $4.5 million New York Forward grant to revitalize North Bellport in 2024, and a $13.2 tax break after Gov. Kathy Hochul awarded $26 million through the Long Island Investment Fund (LIIF) to further the State’s efforts to increase the housing supply.
After Brookhaven Town’s Planning Board approved the design plans and special permits, the joy for the 14 Greater Bellport Coalition members who attended—including co-president JoAnn Neal, John Rogers, pastor Green of Public Street Ministry, Jason Neal, Nancy Marr, and Star Ella—was beyond words.
“[Town supervisor] Dan Panico said he was involved a long time and was glad it came to fruition,” Rogers said.
Councilman Mike Loguercio weighed in. “It goes back to [former town supervisor] Ed Romaine and I and the town board,” he said. “Dan Panico always supported the project to revitalize that corridor in North Bellport. Peter Florey of the D & F Development Group was the first to step his toe in the sand with its gated but affordable apartments, but also to provide housing and jobs. Dunkin’, Hola Dollar and the shopping center next door, you have developers who are coming in. The Long Island Rail Road has been cleaned up, and GBC are trying to get a bank and a supermarket. The sewer project is being partnered with the county.”
Legis. Dominick Thorne has been a big supporter as well.
Two people expressed concerns about the project’s impact on the school district, Rogers added.
But, “the enrollment is dropping,” JoAnn Neal pointed out. “There’s talk about one of the elementary schools being closed.”
“I know for sure the speakers don’t live in North Bellport,” said Ella. “[The area] has been dilapidated for years.”
Alegria South’s humane aspect, besides its main affordability, includes housing for veterans and the developmentally disabled.
“Five apartments have been put aside,” said JoAnn Neal.
An example of a satisfying collaboration, Florey has met regularly with the Greater Bellport Coalition getting their input, “at least four times a year,” he said.
Jason Neal, JoAnn Neal’s son—a younger member of the GBC—expressed his views.
“My support for the development is to help build a stronger Bellport and a better Brookhaven,” he said.
“It brings more families into the area and gives people affordable places to live.”
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