East Hampton Town officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly completed Manor House condominium apartments on Accabonac Road in East Hampton at noon tomorrow. The town oversaw construction of the 12-unit complex to create affordable housing opportunities for residents.
While the town’s previous affordable and work-force housing projects are rental properties or single-family residences for ownership, the Manor House condominium project is the first of its kind in the town’s affordable housing program. Each building on the 2.7-acre complex comprises a single one-bedroom condominium apartment, two two-bedroom apartments, and one three-bedroom apartment. Sale contracts are being finalized for each of the units, prices for which range from $126,835 to $267,850. Residents are expected to begin moving in before year’s end.
Residents with income up to 130 percent of the median income for Suffolk County were eligible to purchase a unit. Those who applied to a waiting list kept by the town’s Office of Housing and Community Development were randomly assigned a number. A lottery drawing was held at Town Hall in May 2017, and 331 applicants were sequentially entered onto the list. At the time, no houses or condominium units were available for purchase through the housing office, but the Manor House complex was under development and an existing waiting list had dwindled to around 10 applicants.
Eligibility was determined in the order drawn. As the Manor House complex neared completion, applicants were contacted and vetted for eligibility. Applicants must have sufficient income and credit to qualify for a conventional mortgage, be first-time homebuyers, live and/or work year round in the town, and be citizens or legal residents of the United States.
Amado Ortiz, an architect and member of the East Hampton Housing Authority, developed the “manor house” concept and donated his expertise. The complex will be dedicated to the late Barbara Jordan, another member of the Housing Authority, who worked to provide affordable housing in East Hampton, at a later date.
