Application deadline nears for seniors' affordable housing lottery in Deer Park

Seniors looking for an affordable set of digs can try their luck with a housing lottery at a Deer Park apartment complex that in its former life was home to much-younger occupants.

Sutton Landing at Deer Park, where the George Washington School property stood at 220 Washington Ave., is for residents 55 and older. The nearly $50 million project, which is a 200-unit complex, will include 40 affordable apartments for applicants with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income.

According to the Long Island Housing Partnership, applicants’ incomes must fall within a range that cannot exceed $70,950 for an individual or $109,450 for a household of five. The Hauppauge-based nonprofit is working with developer Engel Burman of Jericho to administer the affordability component.  

All apartments at Sutton Landing are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. Each affordable unit will be priced at $1,992 a month, which does not include utilities. First-floor apartments are 1,064 square feet, and those on the second-floor are 1,110 square feet, said Steve Krieger, principal at Engel Burman. By the end of the year, all units will be available for rent on the 10-acre property. Market-rate apartments will start at $2,850.

“It shows you how fast we’ve been building, even with the delays with COVID, we’ve been able to push through,” said Krieger, adding that Engel Burman closed on the property in July 2019. “We have a handful of leases signed already.”  

Officials have no date for when or in what capacity the lottery will be held. Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. July 31. Lottery applications are available at lihp.org/rentals.html or by calling the housing partnership at 631-435-4710.    

Voters from the Deer Park School District passed a referendum in 2014 to sell the property, which hasn’t been an elementary school for at least 30 years. The property housed a day care program and youth community center until June 2015. 

The Babylon Industrial Development Agency, which grants tax breaks to projects with industrial uses or workforce housing and that create or retain jobs, gave Engel Burman a $21 million tax cut over 30 years.