County Executive Steve Levy and Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri Move Forward on Innovative Downtown Housing Initiatives

The county legislature approved two resolutions last week that will allow the county to acquire properties for the development of Artspace, on Terry Street, which will provide 45 units of studio/living space for artists—and for New Village, which will replace the former Swezey’s department store on the town’s Four Corners and will include 240 rental units.
“Patchogue has already set the standard for downtown revitalization with such projects as Copper Beech Village and the renovation of the Patchogue Theatre, and the addition of Artspace and New Village will bring further energy into the village,” said Levy.
The national not-for-profit organization Artspace, working with the Village of Patchogue and Suffolk County, will construct 45 units for local artists which will serve as living and work space, on property on Terry Street. The development will also include 2,500 square feet of commercial space for arts and community organizations.
Suffolk’s acquisition of nine small properties between Main Street and Lake Street will allow the proposed New Village development to move forward. The $130 million project, located on the site of the former Swezey’s Department Store on Patchogue’s famous Four Corners, will include a 111-room hotel, 30,000 square feet of retail space, 20,000 square feet of office space and 240 rental units – 67 of which will be for those at 85% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) as determined by HUD ($69,190 for a two-person household). Developers said all of the rental units will be for those at 120% or less of the AMI.
Reader Comments | read reactions to this article
Fantastic! The culture of a community is in the hands of the artists. The culture of a community is what adds value to a place. A place with no culture loses value. Over priced real estate has made for and “exodus” of young aspiring artists on Long Island. Carolinas, Seattle, and even NYC are destination points where artists can find community and affordable living.
This is a tremendous step in giving artists a chance to contribute to the culture of Long Island while not needing 8 jobs on the side to pay for rent, or a ridiculous 450,000 mortgage.
Hats off to this project, it is truly inspiring!
This is the first time I have ever heard of such a thing, in all my 38 years! I tip my fedora to the town of Patchogue!
This is amazing… long Island really needs something like this and I hope that this idea and type of thinking spreads throughout Long Island… We def need more places like this!
Thats really amazing,as an artist I applaude this and pary it could be done allover Long Island.
This is absolutely exciting! I’m in!
Wow, I’d really like to have a chance at that!
This is super cool! I am an art student and am looking forward to having a chance at this!
I wish that this could be done all throughout Long Island. Riverhead really needs a revival. Maybe someday soon…
Wow! This is so exciting! This is exactly what our local Patchogue artists need.
Awesome! As an artist, I think that this a great idea!!