Northwell pitches housing for hospital staff and seniors in Eastport
Northwell Health is pitching a housing complex for seniors and health care workers on 44 acres in Eastport, seen here on Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
The clubhouse, a traditional social hub in housing complexes, would have exam rooms. Senior apartments would be equipped with technology for telehealth visits and monitors to check for vitals, like blood pressure and heart rates. A shuttle will bus residents to nearby medical centers.
Northwell Health is pitching a senior and workforce housing development on 44 acres in Eastport to bring health care services to the town's aging population.
The concept serves a dual purpose by creating affordable housing for Northwell staff and units specifically designed to meet the needs of seniors, according to the health group.
The proposal is a first-of-its-kind project for Northwell, the state's largest health care provider, and would address a critical need for affordable housing on the East End, developers said.
Andrew Mitchell, former president and CEO of Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead — a Northwell hospital — is leading the project as a consultant. He pitched Southampton town board members on the plan at their July 25 meeting. About 217 units would be designated for senior housing, with another 60 for health care employees and others. The shuttle would be available to bus residents to Northwell’s Manorville complex, where the Northwell Health Grossman Imaging at Manorville and other facilities are located.
"We believe by making this a health care project that combines residential services together, partnering with the town and community, we can make something very special here," Mitchell said.
Growing the supply of affordable housing for seniors has been a top focus for town officials.
About 23% of Southampton Town's population is 65 or older, compared with Suffolk County, where 18.2% of residents are 65 or older, according to U.S. census data.
The average age continues to trend up in Southampton and officials don't expect that to change, councilman Tommy John Schiavoni said during the board meeting. In 2022, Southampton published a 60-page "Housing Report" that analyzed the town's housing stock.
Analysts found a "remarkable pattern of graying over a relatively brief period of eight years," according to VHB, a Hauppaugue engineering firm that authored the report.
"Southampton needs to ensure that the housing stock provides the right mix of services for this growing population," the report said.
Northwell hasn't submitted any plans to the town. The developers plan to ask Southampton to approve zone changes to permit multifamily and senior housing on the land.
PBMC owns the property, which is between Old Country Road and the service road of Sunrise Highway. It leases a portion of it to a nursery, while the rest of the land is vacant.
Health care-sponsored housing is emerging as a trend in New York and across the country, experts said.
"In general, the connection between housing and health has really always existed," said Martine Hackett, chair of Hofstra University's Department of Population Health. "When it comes to thinking about the types of health conditions that especially elderly people have, the quality of their housing is key to maintaining their health."
Hackett said she could see the benefit of "shifting health care where it is more in the community where people are living."
In New Orleans, an affordable housing and health care development opened earlier this year with 192 units — 92 of which are for seniors, according to the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, a New Orleans-based nonprofit.
Mitchell said it's too early to say how much the project will cost.
Northwell had considered building an ambulatory surgery center or new hospital on the Eastport property.
Those plans never advanced. When the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation acquired the former McGann-Mercy High School campus in 2020, Northwell officials decided to use that area to expand operations.
The clubhouse, a traditional social hub in housing complexes, would have exam rooms. Senior apartments would be equipped with technology for telehealth visits and monitors to check for vitals, like blood pressure and heart rates. A shuttle will bus residents to nearby medical centers.
Northwell Health is pitching a senior and workforce housing development on 44 acres in Eastport to bring health care services to the town's aging population.
The concept serves a dual purpose by creating affordable housing for Northwell staff and units specifically designed to meet the needs of seniors, according to the health group.
The proposal is a first-of-its-kind project for Northwell, the state's largest health care provider, and would address a critical need for affordable housing on the East End, developers said.
Andrew Mitchell, former president and CEO of Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead — a Northwell hospital — is leading the project as a consultant. He pitched Southampton town board members on the plan at their July 25 meeting. About 217 units would be designated for senior housing, with another 60 for health care employees and others. The shuttle would be available to bus residents to Northwell’s Manorville complex, where the Northwell Health Grossman Imaging at Manorville and other facilities are located.
"We believe by making this a health care project that combines residential services together, partnering with the town and community, we can make something very special here," Mitchell said.
Growing the supply of affordable housing for seniors has been a top focus for town officials.
About 23% of Southampton Town's population is 65 or older, compared with Suffolk County, where 18.2% of residents are 65 or older, according to U.S. census data.
The average age continues to trend up in Southampton and officials don't expect that to change, councilman Tommy John Schiavoni said during the board meeting. In 2022, Southampton published a 60-page "Housing Report" that analyzed the town's housing stock.
Analysts found a "remarkable pattern of graying over a relatively brief period of eight years," according to VHB, a Hauppaugue engineering firm that authored the report.
"Southampton needs to ensure that the housing stock provides the right mix of services for this growing population," the report said.
Northwell hasn't submitted any plans to the town. The developers plan to ask Southampton to approve zone changes to permit multifamily and senior housing on the land.
PBMC owns the property, which is between Old Country Road and the service road of Sunrise Highway. It leases a portion of it to a nursery, while the rest of the land is vacant.
Health care-sponsored housing is emerging as a trend in New York and across the country, experts said.
"In general, the connection between housing and health has really always existed," said Martine Hackett, chair of Hofstra University's Department of Population Health. "When it comes to thinking about the types of health conditions that especially elderly people have, the quality of their housing is key to maintaining their health."
Hackett said she could see the benefit of "shifting health care where it is more in the community where people are living."
In New Orleans, an affordable housing and health care development opened earlier this year with 192 units — 92 of which are for seniors, according to the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, a New Orleans-based nonprofit.
Mitchell said it's too early to say how much the project will cost.
Northwell had considered building an ambulatory surgery center or new hospital on the Eastport property.
Those plans never advanced. When the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation acquired the former McGann-Mercy High School campus in 2020, Northwell officials decided to use that area to expand operations.
Health and housing
- Northwell Health is seeking a zone change in Southampton to develop an Eastport property.
- Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead owns the property.
- The proposal would feature housing for seniors and health care workers.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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