A longtime plan to build rental apartments and for-sale condos on land owned by the First Baptist Church of Riverhead could add affordable options on Long Island's pricey East End.

New York State recently awarded the project $1 million for infrastructure improvements, but the proposal needs a key zoning change that would allow the $52 million development to move forward.

Northville Commons, about 1 ½ miles north of Riverhead’s Main Street, would offer 80 affordable rental apartments and eight for-sale condos, according to the church and nonprofit developer Georgica Green Ventures.

The developer plans to build the housing on a portion of the church’s more than 12 acres. The church, established in 1925 and in its current location since 1971, will continue operating on the land. Georgica Green Ventures will enter a 99-year land lease with the church for the housing portion of the site.

The church’s plans call for the creation of a 10,000-square-foot community center, with programs including job training, children and youth services, senior programs and community education programs.  

“We envision a holistic complex that includes housing that is more affordable for our young people who we keep losing off Long Island,” said Shirley Coverdale, CEO of the Family Community Life Center, which operates out of the church but would run programming in the future community center.

An earlier proposal that included 132 apartments was rejected by the town board in 2013. 

The new rental apartments will be a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom for tenants who meet certain income requirements. The units will be limited to tenants earning between $57,750 and $131,920, which is based on a range of 50% to 80% of the area median income, according to Georgica Green Ventures.

Rents are slated to range from $1,546 for a one-bedroom to $2,970 for a two bedroom. About half of the units are one-bedrooms that would cost $1,856 a month. Those income limits and rents are likely to change by the time the development opens, as the federal government revises housing affordability standards annually.

On July 2, the state awarded Suffolk County $1 million to support the project's development, including a potential on-site sewage treatment plant, sidewalk improvements and landscaping.

Infrastructure funding is critical to support any new housing, transportation or environmentally focused project and protect the region’s water quality, said Michael Martino, spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine.

The church's location is well suited to provide housing to working people on the East End, said Allison Ekblom, vice president of Georgica Green Ventures.

“This is an area where there’s residential neighbors and commercial farmland,” she said. “There’s so many different uses in this area, and the thing that’s missing is affordable housing and the community center.”

For the project to move forward, the Riverhead Town Board must approve a proposed zoning change that would set requirements for mixed-use developments located on 10 acres or more.

The change would require builders to allocate 10% of new units as for sale, not rentals, in a community benefit zoning use district. 

“We’re waiting with bated breath for them to move this forward,” said Coverdale, whose husband, the Rev. Charles A. Coverdale, is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church.

The units in such a district would have to be sold or rented to people earning between 50% to 130% of area median income. That caps income for such units at about $150,000 for an individual or $171,500 for a couple.

“There’s so much stigma around the designation of affordable housing,” said Riverhead Community Development Director Dawn Thomas at a town meeting last week. “I think most people hearing those numbers would recognize that they know a lot of people in those income brackets, and it’s important to maintain the fabric of our community here, which is a multitude of different ages, incomes, races, economics and everything else.”

Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said he’s glad to see the Northville Commons project moving forward.

“I love the fact that homeownership is a part of this,” he said. “We’ve been working hard to try to get developers to buy into that.”

The town board will hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning change Aug. 5 and could vote on the proposal later next month.

If the project receives needed town approvals and secures state funding next year, construction could begin in late 2026, said Georgica Green Ventures’ Ekblom.