MANORVILLE – The Jericho-based Beechwood Organization is in contract to acquire a 127-acre parcel along Sunrise Highway with plans to build up to 889 residential units as part of a planned retirement community.
The land, sandwiched between Sunrise Highway and Center Moriches-Middle Island Road, has a current zoning mix of industrial and residential. But Beechwood, which is moving forward with the project under the name Mile Development Corp., has applied for a change of zone for commercial and planned retirement community.
If the zoning change is approved, the development could contain up to seven PRC units per acre, or a total of up to 889. But officials in the Town of Brookhaven’s planning department said that Beechwood’s proposal to include a commercial facet in its development- most likely retail – would result in fewer than that.
The area surrounding the site consists almost entirely of residential development. However, it is in the vicinity of the Town of Brookhaven’s Calabro Airport, a general aviation facility that has just to the west of the Beechwood property. Beechwood President Michael Dubb was unavailable for comment.
The Beechwood Organization is the largest residential builder on Long Island according to Long Island Business New’s 2001 Book of Lists. In April, Professional Builders Magazine named the firm one of 400 giants of residential real estates in the United States, and it was ranked third in the state. Over the last 15 years, Beechwood has built more than 3,000 homes on Long Island and in New York City, mostly in the five boroughs.
The company also has two projects in Manorville: Country Pointe at Manorville, a 271-unit single family development, and a similar project known as Rock Hill Woods at Manorville. Real estate experts say the need for housing for the elderly is on the rise and will grow sharply as the baby boomer generation enters retirement age.
According to Suffolk County – Planning Department, the senior population in the county has been growing since 1980. As of 1999, there were 285,000 people aged 55 and older, 25,000 more than recorded in 1990 and 62,000 more than in 1980. And those numbers are expected to grow dramatically in the next five years.
