By Carl Corry

 

Apr 18, 1997

 

(Copyright Newsday Inc., 1997)

 

AFTER MORE than a decade of planning, fighting, threatened lawsuits, compromise and downsizing, developers and the Mount Sinai Civic Association have reached agreement on a plan to turn more than 400 acres of Brookhaven farmland into one of the largest housing development in Suffolk County history.

 

The $200-million project, called The Villages at Mount Sinai, is to feature up to 770 single-family housing units, including a 170-unit retirement community. The project also is to have two kinds of elder-care facilities with up to 350 additional units. The scaled-down plan, which at one point called for more than 1,000 housing units, now instead has a larger 18-hole golf course where much denser housing was originally planned.

 

The agreement ends a classic Long Island confrontation between big developers and a civic association which feared their community would be overwhelmed.

 

"Because there were so many houses, they were going to bring in more kids," said Lori Baldassare, president of the Mount Sinai Civic Association, who said the group's opposition always turned on the size of the project, not whether it should be built at all. "We were fearful that we would have to build another elementary school."

 

When the dispute was at an impasse and headed for a long court battle, Baldassare stepped in last year to spark the renewed negotiations that led to the agreement.

 

"Lori and her entire board took the initiative. I think that's what was lacking in the first place," developer Robert Worrell said. "Instead of saying no to everything," he said, they sat down and looked to compromise.

 

To jump start the needs of the more than 400 new students the project will bring to local schools, developers agreed to a one-time grant of more than $2 million to the Mount Sinai school system, which already has space in its buildings for the new pupils.

 

The Villages project, located on Route 25A near Mount Sinai-Patchogue Road, will be coordinated by Worrell, of Robert Worrell Inc. in Mount Sinai, and Donald Eversoll, of Klein & Eversoll in Commack. If the final legal papers are signed as soon as expected, they hope to break ground and begin sales next spring.

 

The project will be developed in several sections that include:

 

--185 units of single-family homes with up to four bedrooms and ranging from $180,000 to $230,000.

 

--A 193-acre country club, including an 18-hole golf course with up to 130 detached houses ranging from $270,000 to $325,000 and a catering facility.

 

--234 townhouse units, with a basement, two-car garage and up to three bedrooms, ranging from $140,000 to $180,000.

--51 single-family homes clustered on one-third-acre lots, ranging from $190,000 to $240,000.

 

--A 170-unit planned retirement community for ages 55 and over. These single-family detached houses will have a two-car garage and optional dens and will range from $180,000 to $220,000. The community would include a club house, pool and tennis courts.

 

--A 225-unit congregate-care facility where seniors would own their own housing units with cooking facilities and communal dining.

 

--A 120-unit development for an assisted-living facility with limited health care.

 

UP TO A dozen manmade ponds will dot the complex, which will be threaded with bicycle and jogging paths.

 

Developers have put a $200-million price tag on the whole project, and while other developments in the county may have included more housing units, none is as large when the other facilities are included, Eversoll said.

 

"We've choosen a more comprehensive, more effective approach," than the original, denser housing development planned for the site, Eversoll said. Because the plan is so large, the developers will actually be able to save money by undertaking all major construction at once, including recreation facilities, streets and sewers, he said.

 

While giving the community and surrounding area a short-term economic boom during the three years of construction, Worrell and Eversoll feel their long-range contribution will come by offering an economic diversity of housing arrangements that will allow different generations of a family to remain close together. By having senior housing facilities as a major component of the development, the new community will add fewer children to the Mount Sinai School District than would a project consisting entirely of conventional housing.

 

Originally, the plan included a 200-bed nursing home, but that had to be dropped when the state put a moritorium on nursing home licenses two years ago.

 

Instead, the developers added a 120-unit assisted-living facility. Both it and the congregate-care facilities offer less health care than nursing homes, but have dining, recreation and housekeeping for those who want it.

The private retirement community requires occupants to be older than 55 and prohibits children.

 

Lee Koppelman, executive director of the Long Island Regional Planning Board, said the project will promote the transitional type of senior housing that the county has been seeking for the past 25 years. "Beyond any question, there is a need," he said.

 

The chronic shortage of senior housing on Long Island, Koppelman said, has forced seniors to move out of state to find an affordable place to live. "It makes good sense" to build housing to keep seniors on Long Island, near their families, Koppelman said.

 

The planning of The Villages at Mount Sinai goes back to 1985, when the developers started buying the land. Worrell and Eversoll own adjoining parcels and decided to combine their development efforts "to do a better job at planning," Worrell said.

 

The two met when they were working for a building company in California. They came here to become part of Klein & Eversoll, and Worrell eventually formed his own company.

 

After meeting with the school board and civic association many times during the late 1980s and not coming to an agreement, the developers sought town approval of their first project. The 981-unit plan was rejected in September, 1990, on the grounds that there were too many homes on too few acres.

 

THEN CLUSTERED on just 357 acres, the project would have consisted of 738 "upscale" condominiums, 47 "affordable" condominiums, a 196-unit planned retirement community and a 120-bed nursing home. At the time, the land was zoned for a maximum of 522 units.

 

Another plan, approved in July, 1995, called for 618 single-family townhouses, 166 units in a planned retirement community, a 200-unit nursing home, a 225-unit continuous care facility and a compact nine-hole executive golf course.

 

The town's approval of that plan brought the wrath of the Mount Sinai Civic Association, which filed a lawsuit against Brookhaven alleging that the town board failed to follow state environmental laws when it rezoned the property. The suit, funded by donations from the community, also charged that the town's approval was inconsistent with its rejection of the earlier plan.

 

After a year of fighting, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Felix J. Grucci Jr. met with the civic association to seek a compromise. "We always supported the retirement community," said civic association president Baldassare. But the group's more than 500 members opposed the large number of single-family homes. "It would have had a dramatic impact on the school district," she said.

 

Slowly the two sides came together during the winter.

 

No one is sure who called who first, but the developers and civic group started talking in November. Worrell said he started meeting with Baldassare at her home or at his office to discuss the project. "We addressed their concerns one at a time," he said.

 

For the most part, the final plan was adjusted to conform with a hamlet study conducted by the civic group. The survey said the area needed a less dense development with more open space.

 

As a result, there are 258 fewer single-family homes (and thus fewer school-age children); an 80-unit reduction in the nursing to assisted-care facilities; a 19-unit increase in the planned retirement community; 48 more townhouses; elimination of a street extension, and an additional 60 acres devoted to the golf course.

 

Under a stipulation in the agreement, the developers will give the Mount Sinai School District a one-time payment of $2.1 million, or $10,000 per residence.

 

School Superintendent Peter Paciolla said he personally approves of the project, but the school board had stayed neutral. Paciolla said the district of about 2,100 students can accommodate the estimated 417 children that will eventually live in The Villages. "We planned for this development, and really any other devlopment in the future," he said. The high school, completed in 1991, can hold 1,050 students and currently has about 700.

 

Since Mount Sinai is almost completely a residential area, the development would mean a considerable increase in the tax base. "This will hopefully give us an opportunity to stabilize our tax rate," Paciolla said.

 

The court stipulation implementing the agreement still must be signed by the attorneys representing the developers and the civic association, but everyone seems to be happy with the deal.

 

Eversoll said the compromise was for the best: "When one party wins absolutely, it is probably not the best solution."

 

Under Way Elsewhere On the Island

Major housing projects now under construction on Long Island, with the year sales or leasing began, as compiled by the Long Island Builders Institute.

 

Summerfield, Holtsville, 1996, 431 single-family houses, developed by Emmy Building Corp.

 

Silverponds, Manorville, 1994, 366 townhouses, developed by DAS Corp.

 

Spruce Ponds, Islip, 1997, 360 rental units, developed by Heatherwood Inc.

 

Stonington, Port Jefferson Station, 1995, 300 townhouses developed by New Woods Corp.

 

Highlands, Port Jefferson, 300 condominium units, developed by Parkridge Organization.

 

Windemere Pines, Coram, 1996, 251 single-family houses, developed by Windemere Development Corp.

 

Villages, Huntington, 1996, 248 single-family houses and townhouses, developed by Barbash Organization.

Spring Lake, Middle Island, 1994, 210 single-family houses, developed by Birchwood Corp.

The Lakes, Setauket, 1995, 205 townhouses, developed by White Oaks at Setuaket.

 

Fairway Manor, Bayport, 200-unit senior complex, developed by RCP Properties.

 

Park Row, Central Islip, 1995, 200 townhouses, developed by Torn Construction.

 

Avalon, Smithtown, 1996, 200 rental units, developed by subsidiary of Trammel Crow Corp.

 

The Knolls, Melville, 200 townhouses, developed by Benjamin Development.

 

County Pointe, Melville, 1997, 193 single-family houses and townhouses, developed by Beachwood Organization.

Avalon, Melville, 1997, 164 rental units, developed by subsidiary of Trammel Crow Corp.

 

Southgate, Setauket, 1996, 164 single-family houses, developed by AVR Construction.