They offer a maintenance-free, resort lifestyle community for those age 55 and over with plenty of activities to keep you busy every day of the week. Unlike assisted living, active communities are completely independent, and residents own their own homes within. Residents live all types of lifestyles and partake in numerous physical or social activities. 

Though these communities are popular among retirees, residents have no limits to what they can or can’t do. These lavish communities offer glamorous homes, unlike anywhere else, and even more extraordinary perks! Enjoy the time, ease, and peace of mind you’ve been looking for. Explore all the benefits of purchasing a home in an active adult community below! 

The Clubhouse at Country Pointe Plainview

A Sense of Community 

Adult communities are the perfect place for you to find like-minded people in a similar stage of life. This environment makes it easier to find people to connect with similar interests. This provides residents with a sense of belonging and opportunities to rekindle social connections. Isolation is unheard of in a place like this. With most residents living within a street corner of each other, proximity will be no obstacle in creating life-long bonds and friendships.

Amenities, Amenities, AMENITIES.

Talk about luxury living! One of the perks residents say they love the most about living in a gated community like Country Pointe Plainview is the unparalleled elegance of its amenities. The 29k square foot Resort Clubhouse provides every wellness amenity health aficionados desire!  A fitness center with high-end equipment, a stunning pool to relax by, and a bar and lounge to enjoy quality time with family and friends. 

Here are some of the endless activities you could enjoy just a short walk from home: 

• Watch movies any day of the week free of charge at the in-site movies theater
• Get active on one of the community’s tennis or pickleball courts
• Make smores at the fireplace lounge
• Get a work out in at the fitness center equipped with locker rooms, sauna, and steam
• Take a dip in one of the two heated pools on hot summer days
• Unwind after a tiring day at the bubbling hot tub
• Create your own event at one of the multi-purpose party rooms
• Play games in the game room like skeeball, foosball, pool, poker, ping pong, and more
• Grab a drink with a friend at the bar 

Find all the amenities you need right on site. Convenient and welcoming, the full-service clubhouse provides 24/7 concierge service, so you can focus on living and leave the details to us. 

Fitness Center at Country Pointe Plainview

Something to Do Every Day of the Week

Fun-filled days, every day. Living in a community like this means you can easily find others who enjoy the kinds of activities you do. Residents often create clubs such as book clubs, bridge, knitting, canasta, and so much more. And for those interested in more active entertainment, start a match of tennis or pickleball at one of the available courts.

There are also many organized activities to enjoy such as speaker events, exercise classes at the gym such as yoga and Zumba, and guided art classes. Stay up to date on everything happening in your community by requesting a monthly events calendar. 

The Perfect Neighborhood

Everything you need and love is just minutes from your doorstep. Situated in the heart of Nassau County, you can find a new adventure every day, without ever leaving Long Island. Get some exercise in by taking a walk through Bethpage State Park. Ride your bike along the South Shore and look out to its iconic beaches. Or indulge in culture at the Nassau County Museum of Art. You can even go on a shopping spree at the Broadway Commons or the massive Roosevelt Field Mall. And for the perfect date night, visit one of the world-class restaurants. When you live such a close distance from all the necessities including ShopRite grocery store, and Country Pointe shopping center, you know there is no better place to call home.

A Low-Maintenance Lifestyle 

Sit back and enjoy where you live without having to worry about the small details. At Country Pointe Plainview, we offer snow removal services during the winter months so you don’t have to worry about going outside to shovel your driveway. 

For those with physical disabilities or challenges, everyday life doesn’t have to be a worry. In addition to attached garages and elevators, landscaping services are included for your convenience year-round, creating a worry-free free lifestyle with all your home maintenance needs covered. 

A Place to Call Home and Feel Safe

Sleep comfortably at night knowing you don’t only live in one of the top residences in Long Island, but also in a safe community. Country Pointe Plainview is known for being an extremely safe area but nevertheless, our gated residence also counts with 24-hour security guards. Have peace of mind with perimeter fencing around the property, security surveillance, and a gatehouse announcing each guest, no matter the time of day.

Convenience & Accessibility 

Designed with convenience in mind, these luxurious single-level living spaces provide you with ease to move around your home comfortably. For two-story units, elevators are installed to make sure your living situation is comfortable as can be.

The Greenbrier Model at Country Pointe Plainview

A Villa All to Yourself

Aside from all the other amazing perks of living in an active adult community like Country Pointe Plainview, the homes themselves are incomparable. These beautiful vaulted-ceiling villas have spacious open floor plans, elegant finishes, and signature oversized windows. You will fall in love with your new designer kitchen and luxurious grand suites. A modern yet timeless look that will suit you for years to come.  
When you move into an active adult community like Country Pointe Plainview you don’t just get to live in a stunning luxury home, you get an exclusive membership to a lifestyle unlike no other. If this sounds like somewhere you can see yourself living, check out Country Pointe Plainview and all of the lifestyle communities that Beechwood Homes has to offer.

The post 8 Benefits of Living in an Active Adult Community  appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Treat yourself to the ultimate luxury experience and head to Long Island for a stay in one of its many world-class hotels. From luxurious spas, fine dining, breathtaking views, and top-notch service, there are countless reasons why you should consider staying at a luxury hotel on Long Island.

Stay at Westbury’s Most Distinctive Residences

The Selby and Vanderbilt welcome you home to our boutique collection of meticulously curated residences. After experiencing the unparalleled comfort and sophistication of these fully furnished, residential-style suites, you’ll never want to leave. Among the most refined rental residences in Long Island,  The Selby and Vanderbilt are designed to foster a sense of community and enhance your daily experiences. Whether you’re looking for opportunities to improve your health and wellness, entertain guests, relax and unwind, or pursue professional endeavors, you’ll find everything you need at these unique residences.

Luxury stays like these are the perfect solution for the snowbirds out there seeking a temporary summer home,  medical professionals in need of short-term housing near hospitals, a potential resident looking to explore Long Island before settling down, looking to downsize, or for those hosting visiting family and guests. Our high-end extended stay residences provide a level of service and amenities that go beyond what standard hotels can offer.

Executive Convenience with the Comfort of Home

As soon as you step through the doors of these stunning extended stay residences, you’ll be struck by the careful attention to every detail. The Selby and Vanderbilt are more than just places to stay – they cater to an atmosphere of relaxation and comfort.

Each executive suite is spacious and well-appointed, featuring vaulted ceilings, expansive windows, designer baths, and custom wood features. Whether you’re staying for a season or several months, you’ll feel right at home with laundry on-site, and dry cleaning services just a dial away. You also get the option of choosing a kitchenette or full kitchen depending on your stay needs.

But the amenities don’t stop there. The Vanderbilt also offers an on-site restaurant, bar service, and a poolside menu for your dining pleasure. Visit The Selby’s on-site restaurant after the summer season! And if you need to get some work done, the business center, conference rooms, and club rooms provide the perfect setting to stay productive. During the warmer months, take a dip at the terrace pool near the fire pits and soak in the sun. The amenities are simply unmatched.

Location is Everything

Of course, location is everything when it comes to an extended stay, and The Selby and Vanderbilt are perfectly situated to take advantage of all that Long Island has to offer. Just 25 miles from New York City, you can find yourself in the city just minutes from your doorstep. The residences also offer easy access to transportation including the Westbury train station, as well as world-class dining, shopping at Long Island’s largest mall, Roosevelt Field, and entertainment options, all within a short drive. Plus, with close proximity to the 930-acre Eisenhower Park, you’ll have access to endless opportunities for recreation and outdoor activities like golf.

And don’t forget about the picturesque beaches of Long Island just a short distance away. And if you consider yourself a foodie, you’re in for a treat. Westbury boasts a worldly, inspired culinary scene. Trendy new restaurants, old-time diners and local favorites provide an array of experiences from breakfast to late night dinner.

Whether you’re visiting Long Island for work or pleasure, The Selby and Vanderbilt by Beechwood Homes are the ideal home away from home. With exceptional amenities, personalized services, and a central location, these extended-stay residences offer the ultimate luxury living. Book your stay today and experience the very best that Long Island has to offer. 

The post Why These Luxury Extended Stay Hotels on Long Island Will Be Your Home Away From Home appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Young graduates were presented with diplomas by BCCA Founder and Chairman Michael Dubb and BCCA President Libby Imperio in front of their families, BCCA board members, and distinguished guests, including David O’Rourke, NYRA President and CEO; Joi Garner, NYRA Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary; and Nassau County Legislator Laura Schaefer.

BCCA also recognized one of Anna House’s earliest graduates, Xochilt, who is the first recipient of a BCCA college scholarship. Xochilt will enter a five-year program at Northeastern University to study civil engineering and architecture.

Read the original article here

The post Belmont Child Care Association Celebrates 2023 Anna House Graduates appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Beechwood Carolinas, a New York-based developer, is advancing plans for South Creek across from Southern Community Park after the Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved a rezoning earlier this month. The 815-home development at 4511 S. Columbia St. will also have between 21,000 and 52,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

Beechwood Carolinas Principal Steven Dubb said South Creek is fully funded through The Beechwood Organization, which Beechwood Carolinas is a division of, without outside equity or capital partners. The company might secure a construction loan in the future, but it doesn’t need one yet.

There will be 120 apartments, 606 condominiums and 89 townhomes. The apartments and condos will be a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units while the townhomes will have two, three and four bedrooms. Both the apartments and condos will be in 5-story buildings over covered parking and some retail. The townhomes will be two stories with garages.

The apartments will range from 525 to 2,725 square feet and be for rent. Dubb said the units will be market rate. The condos will have the same square footage range as the apartments but will be for sale. The townhomes will be 1,600 to 2,900 square feet and also be for sale. Dubb said the pricing will start in the $300,000s and push close to the million-dollar range.

Part of the rezoning came with a condition that 15 percent of the for-sale units and 10 percent of the apartments must be affordable. All the affordable units must be split in half at 65 percent of the area’s median income and 80 percent of AMI. Residential amenities include a swimming pool, splash pads, fitness center, game rooms, communal workspaces, podcasting studios and outdoor gathering spaces. One of the outdoor spaces will be an open lawn for events and entertainment while a larger outdoor green space will be for events like food truck rodeos, farmers markets and festivals. There will also be public art and EV charging stations.

The commercial and retail portion will be uses that complement the community like food and beverage retailers, services, office and medical office. Dubb said the company isn’t looking to bring in a grocer though as Weaver Street Market is across the street in Southern Village. With a big range of potential commercial space, the company is looking to hit the upper end of that square footage.

“[Looking to bring] The types of tenants that our owners and renters would consider to be an amenity to the community and who can support living in the community and not necessarily having to get in your car to go do everything,” Dubb said. “Based on the input from the town that we’ve gotten and what we know from doing projects like this in the past, the more quality retail we can build, the better the project is. We are hoping to maximize that [commercial space].” 

Originally the company was anticipating breaking ground in late 2024 but Dubb said it is aiming for starting in mid 2024 with first occupants moving in 2025. The entire development is a multi-year, multi-phase project that will take between four to eight years to complete.

The previous zoning allowed for a former development proposed on the site, Obey Creek by East West Partners. Obey Creek was more commercial heavy and took several revisions to get approved. With the change in the market, East West Partners decided to forego the project.

The Beechwood Organization acquired 103-acres for $7.25 million in 2021 from East West Partners with 43 of them slated for the South Creek development. This is the company’s first development in the Triangle. The company recently launched Beechwood Carolinas, which will focus on residential development in the Carolinas.

READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

The post $500M development advances in Chapel Hill with new homes, shops, amenities appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Northwell Health will become the second-largest anchor among the business tenants at The Boulevard, the $450 million retail, office and residential complex under development along William Floyd Parkway in Yaphank.

The largest health care provider in New York state, Northwell is investing about $45 million for interior construction and equipment to open three facilities — a multispecialty medical office building, an ambulatory surgery center and an urgent care center — in the development in 2024, said Alex Costello, spokesman for the New Hyde Park-based health system.

“Northwell chose the Yaphank location for a few reasons. It’s a good location with incoming real estate development in the area; it works well with our multispecialty campuses in Manorville and Shirley; and it allows us to offer more outpatient services from Peconic Bay Medical Center,” he said.

Northwell’s planned Yaphank facilities also will help it expand services on the East End, Costello said.

“We’re working to develop comprehensive women’s health in Riverhead and want to support the upcoming surgical pavilion at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore. We’re also expanding our cancer.

Northwell’s 28,000-square-foot multispecialty medical office building will offer dental service, imaging, general pediatrics, orthopedics, pain management and physical therapy, Costello said.

The health care system’s ambulatory surgery center will be the sole occupant of a 16,200-square-foot building, while the urgent care center, GoHealth, will occupy 2,287 square feet unit in a multitenant building.

Northwell’s three facilities in the Yaphank development will employ a total of about 100 people, Costello said.

“Most of them will be new hires, but some may come from other Northwell facilities,” he said.

Moving forward

Located at the former Parr Meadows racetrack site, The Boulevard is a 322-acre retail, office and residential development previously called the Meadows at Yaphank, which is on William Floyd Parkway just north of the Long Island Expressway at Exit 68N.

Also under construction in the complex are upscale rental apartments and for-sale condos and townhomes being developed by The Beechwood Organization in Jericho.

The development’s retail portion, which will total 295,728 square feet when it’s done, is called The Shoppes at The Boulevard. The only tenants on the retail side currently are Ridgewood Savings Bank, which opened this month, and a 197,668-square-foot Walmart Supercenter that opened in 2021 and is the anchor of the shopping center.

Also, a Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel, adjacent to the retail center, was completed on the property in 2020.

On May 8, the Brookhaven Planning Board voted in favor of amendments to the site plan for retail side of the project.

The board approvals included permitting the two buildings that are to be constructed solely for Northwell to be used for health care instead of retail, said Brian Ferruggiari, spokesman for Rose-Breslin Associates LLC, the Yonkers-based developer of the retail portion. Construction of those two Northwell buildings will take at least a year, he said.

The planning board also approved changing plans for an 11,000-square-foot building into two 4,500-square-foot retail buildings with a 2,000-square-foot brick paver plaza in the middle for outdoor seating; and the addition of brick paver patio areas for outdoor seating around two sides of a planned 5,000-square-foot building, he said.

So far, four buildings, including the bank and Walmart, have been constructed in the retail side of the development.

Monti’s Barbershop, which will open this fall; Southpaw Brewing Co., which will open this summer; and Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which recently signed a lease, will be among the tenants in an 8,000-square-foot building that is finished, Ferruggiari said.

Bagel Boss, slated for a fall opening; Yaphank Wine and Spirits, which will open this summer; and GoHealth will be among the tenants in a 9,000-square-foot building that is finished, he said.

Click here to read the original article

The post Northwell Health planning $45M expansion into Yaphank retail, office, residential complex appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

“We’re at an exciting stage in construction at Country Pointe Estates and look forward to partnering with the Enzo Morabito Team on sales,” said Steven Dubb, the principal at The Beechwood Organization. The Jericho-based company, founded by his father, Michael Dubb, has built more than 7,500 homes in 60 communities across the New York metro area since 1985.

“We introduced this project pre-construction in 2022 with only floor plans and renderings. Now, as we near completion of our first model home, and the community has really started to take shape, the time feels right to kick off this next phase of development with a local market expert like Enzo,” Dubb continued.

Five architectural styles of homes are available in the Depot Road development, ranging from 2,700 to 6,000 square feet and offering four to seven bedrooms and a full basement that can be customized with a media room, a wine cellar, a home gym and more. In addition to the modern, flexible floor plans, a broad array of designer finishes, fixtures and living options are available, allowing buyers to fully customize their homes. Each home has options for a swimming pool and extensive outdoor living spaces.

Prices start from $1.95 million.

Beechwood’s Success

Beechwood has enjoyed several successfully completed projects on the South Fork, including Bishops Pond in Southampton Village, its first and largest project with 69 homes,  The Latch, an award-winning luxury condominium development in Southampton Village, and Oneck Landing, a four-parcel Moriches Bay enclave on Fiske Avenue in Westhampton.

Beechwood first worked with Morabito, who leads a top-producing sales team, on selling all of the houses at Oneck Landing.

“We were impressed with what Enzo accomplished there and his team’s strong command of the Westhampton Beach market,” said Dubb. “We look forward to working together again at Country Pointe Estates, where we are proud to be creating some of the area’s finest new homes in a location that has so much to offer.”

“We’re very honored to be working with The Beechwood Organization, one of the most prolific developers in New York, on sales for this very special community of homes,” Morabito said. “With resort-style amenities and brand-new construction that is fully customizable to fit all of your wants, there is nothing else comparable on the East End right now. In fact, there is very little inventory at all in terms of new construction homes west of the canal. You can count the active sales listings on one hand – and the demand for them remains high.”

Strong Westhampton Market in New Year

Morabito says 2023 has started out strong for his team “with over $36 million worth of sales in signed contracts and nearly $20 million closed in just the past 30 days.”

“We’re seeing a very active market, particularly at this price point. I truly believe Country Pointe Estates is the right product, at the right place and at the right price, and we’re thrilled to introduce these homes to the market as they become more three-dimensional, with three new models under construction and some exciting partnerships and new amenities in the works,” Morabito added.

Located on the former site of the Wholistic Tennis Academy, Country Pointe Estate is within walking distance to the Westhampton train station and a quick drive to Main Street and Dune Road beaches. Because the property is part of the village, buyers can enjoy access to the residents-only Roger’s Beach.

“There is also no doubt that Westhampton Beach is poised to be the number one community in the Hamptons,” he said. “It’s a perfect town for year-round living or a summer home – accessible, providing an easy commute between the Hamptons and parts west, and with fantastic village amenities. This location and these beautifully crafted homes will appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers.”

Read the original article here.

The post Enzo Morabito Named Exclusive Sales, Marketing Partner at Beechwood’s Country Pointe Estates in Westhampton Beach appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Photo: Juniper at The Vanderbilt                                                                              

Bar Marseille in the Rockaways (190 Beach 69th St) will serve a delightful Brunch menu and drink specials for Easter! The brunch, priced at $65 per person, includes options such as French Onion Soup, Steak Tartare with Cornichon, Crispy Zucchini With Za’atar Yogurt, and Lemon, Bar Marseille Cheeseburger with Caramelized Onions, Secret Sauce, and Fries, French Toast with Catskills Maple Syrup, and Berries, Steak Frites featuring a New York Strip, and Herb Compound Butter. Guests can up their brunch experience by ordering the Lamb Chops with Carrots, Asparagus, Potatoes, and Mint Au Jus.  

Photo: Bar Marseille                                                                                        

Read the original article here.

The post Where to Dine for Easter in New York appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The retail portion of a $450 million mixed-use complex taking shape along William Floyd Parkway in Yaphank is getting closer to being fully leased as new tenants are set to come on board by this summer, according to the developer.

Bagel Boss, Monti’s Barbershop, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Southpaw Brewing Co. and Yaphank Wine and Spirits will open locations in the retail side of the complex, called The Boulevard, by August, said
Brian Ferruggiari, spokesman for Rose-Breslin Associates LLC, the Yonkers-based developer of the retail portion.

Located at the former Parr Meadows racetrack site, The Boulevard is a 322-acre retail and residential development previously called the Meadows at Yaphank. Also under construction in the complex are upscale rental apartments and for-sale condos and townhomes being developed by The Beechwood Organization in Jericho.

Construction of an assisted living facility, called Chelsea Senior Living, and a Home2Suites by Hilton hotel was completed on the property in 2020.

The development’s retail portion, which will total 295,728 square feet when it’s done, is called The Shoppes at The Boulevard. So far, it has only one store a 197,668-square-foot Walmart Supercenter that Bagel Boss and Southpaw Brewing Co. will be among the new tenants at the Yaphank retail location. before that, he said. vices,” he said. opened in 2021 and is the an- chor of the shopping center. Monti’s already has a location in Moriches.

Here is a rundown of the five tenants moving into three newly constructed buildings at The Shoppes at The Boulevard by this summer.
Bagel Boss: The Jericho-based chain has 15 shops, all but one of which are franchises in New York and New Jersey. “Even though we’ve been around 48 years . . . we’ve opened all the stores ourselves, and it’s only now literally a year and a half ago that we started franchising,” said Andrew Hazen, CEO and co-owner of Bagel Boss. Though franchising is new for the business, Bagel Boss had sold a few shops to longtime store managers in “licensing deals,”

Monti’s Barbershop: The new barbershop, which will occupy 1,529 square feet, won’t be a e a typical place to get a haircut, co-owner Anthony Montanez said. “It’s going to be a high-end barbershop offering hot-towel shaves… [and] facial services” he said.
A Manorville resident and master barber, Montanez opened a Monti’s Barbershop in Mastic in 2011, and then consolidated that into a larger Moriches shop that opened in 2016.

He and a master barber at the Moriches shop, Middle Island resident Justin Raft, will co-own the new Yaphank location.

Ridgewood Savings Bank:
The bank will occupy a free-standing, 2,500-square-foot building, according to Ferruggiari. Founded in 1921 and headquartered in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, the bank has 36 branches in the metropolitan area. The bank did not respond to Newsday’s request for comment.

WHAT TO KNOW
■ Bagel Boss, Monti’s Barbershop, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Southpaw Brewin Co. and Yaphank Wine and Spirits will open at The Boulevard in Yaphank by August, officials said.
■ The retail side of the $450 million mixed-use development is getting closer to being fully leased.
■ The development’s retail portion – a total of 295,728 square feet when done – is called The Shoppes at The Boulevard.

Southpaw Brewing Co.: Set to occupy 3,000 square feet, the restaurant will serve its own craft beer, as well as brick-oven pizza, burgers and other food items, said James Economou, who will co-own the business with his uncle Thomas Neidhart, cousins TJ. and Mike Neidhart, and friend Matt Rappa. All five co-owners reside in Wading River. The partners decided to open Southpaw Brewing in Yaphank because the area lacked a high-quality offering that combines a beer hall with tasty food, Economou said.
“We felt [Yaphank] was kind of up and coming. There’s not too much that is out there,” he said.

Yaphank Wine and Spirits: The 2,840 square-foot store will sell more than 3,000 items and offer complimentary wine tastings, Ferruggiari said. The owner could not be reached for comment.

The post Retail Space Lands Tenant appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The strategy shift comes after the developers discovered during last year’s test marketing that there is a growing number of potential customers who are more interested in buying than renting a piece of the 200,000-square-foot Broadway resort.The vision for the project is to create a 5-star lodging and dining experience unlike anything else in the affluent city of 28,000. The resort will expand its number of hotel rooms from 32 to 65, while constructing an additional 79 condos that will be marketed for somewhere between $600,000 to $1.5 million apiece. The Adelphi also will offer customers access to a spa, concierge services, housekeeping, a ballroom and on-site restaurants serving sushi, raw oysters and $90 Delmonico steaks.

Development partners Dubb and Roth hinted they were thinking about a shift from apartments to condos last fall. Since then, they decided to seek approval for their condo offering plan from the New York State Office of the Attorney General.

The fellow thoroughbred owners and racing fans teamed up two years ago to map out a strategy for expanding the Adelphi.

Dubb is the founder of Beechwood Homes, a company that has constructed more than 10,000 houses on Long Island. Dubb also has had success developing large-scale luxury resorts. He developed The Vanderbilt with 197 apartments and hotel rooms in Westbury on Long Island four years ago. Demand was so strong, he constructed a similar project about a mile away, The Selby in Westbury, with 237 apartments and hotel rooms.

Roth is the former owner of Marchon Eyewear Inc., one of the world’s largest eye care companies. He also was part of a separate group that invested $28 million to renovate the Adelphi into a 32-room boutique hotel about five years ago, offering guests rooms with heated floors, heated toilet seats, bidets and fiber optic internet connections.

Now, Roth and Dubb are expanding the Adelphi by tying it into the former Rip Van Dam hotel next door.
Bonacio Construction of Saratoga Springs is the contractor for the project and Gilbane Building Co. of Albany is the owner’s representative.

Dubb said the Adelphi expansion remains on track to be completed by spring of 2024. Some of the new hotel rooms are expected to open next month. And the remainder of the hotel rooms will be ready in time for the 2023 thoroughbred racing season this summer.

Read the original article here.

The post It will be condos, not apartments for this $75 million Saratoga Springs hotel resort project appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

A Jericho developer has proposed a $189.5 million Kings Park condominium community that, if built, would be one of the largest residential projects in Smithtown since the 1960s subdivisions.

Beechwood Homes’ application for Country Pointe Estates at Kings Park envisions 391 two- and three-bedroom units with boccie and pickleball, a sports bar and other amenities on 71 acres of what is now mostly wooded land north of Old Northport Road and east of Old Indian Head Road. 

The proposal outlined in filings submitted to Smithtown and Suffolk County planners comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a goal of adding 800,000 new homes statewide in the next decade. It follows years of warnings by Smithtown officials that the town — whose housing stock consists almost exclusively of single-family homes, many three bedrooms or larger and more than half a century old — needs to diversify its housing offerings to attract younger residents and keep older ones.

It would also create 40 workforce housing units selling for less than market rate, boosting a 2017 town program that has so far created only 18 units.

But approval could take years. The proposal would require a zone change from single-family to town house residential, variances and probably an environmental impact statement, along with construction of a sewage treatment plant and 1,302 parking spaces. 

The journey began with a false start at the March 1 County Planning Commission meeting, triggered because of the site’s proximity to county land and roads. County planners delivered a report recommending disapproval of the zone change, but the proposal did not get a hearing. A county spokeswoman said that was “due to an incomplete referral.” Smithtown planner Peter Hans said the town clerk’s office had sent the application over before staffers had done their environmental review.

The county report found the proposal “constitutes an over-intensification of the use of the premise” and would undermine town zoning. It also found the site, a little less than a mile from downtown Kings Park, was “remotely situated” and without the neighborhood amenities desirable for multiuse purposes. 

In an email, Beechwood principal Steven Dubb called the recommendation “premature,” lacking key information from what he said would be a rigorous and wide-ranging study of his project’s possible impact to the surrounding area.

In a phone interview, he said he hoped to serve a broad and growing demographic: “These are people who have lived in single-family homes for decades, their kids have moved out, they no longer want to deal with maintenance, mowing the lawn and snow removal. They don’t need all that space and they don’t want to pay exorbitant real estate taxes, but they love Long Island and they don’t want to leave it,” Dubb said.

Similar units at another Beechwood project in Smithtown, Country Pointe Woods, sell for $750,000 to $899,000, he said in an email, with $5 million estimated yearly tax receipts for the proposed project. 

Dubb said he was in contract to buy land from the three owners of separate parcels at the site. They include KPE II, a company that once envisioned building single-family homes on its land; Pebble Hill Building Corp.; and Raleigh Capital Limited Partnership. That company shares an address with Raleigh’s Poultry Farm, which has sold eggs and farm goods since 1960.

The development site includes the farm, and an environmental assessment form filled out by the developer indicates jobs from farm operations would be eliminated.

Read the original article here.

The post Kings Park condominium plan would feature hundreds of units, but an OK could take years appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

As 2022 draws to a close, we are reflecting on the year in real estate, including looking back at all our Behind The Hedges magazines. It was a big year for us — we produced 12 magazines for Dan’s Papers, launched Behind The Hedges Powered By The Long Island Press, another publication owned by our parent company, Schneps Media and we also expanded our real estate coverage to South Florida with Behind The Hedges Palm Beach.

Once the magazine gets in our readers’ hands, it’s hard to gauge their favorite, but thanks to feedback and readership online, we have an inkling! Here are some of our most popular magazine articles from 2022.

Vision Required: Buying Straight From Floor Plans Offers Big Benefits

It takes some vision and foresight, but there are plenty of benefits to buying a Hamptons home off floor plans — especially in this economic climate. “What it allows you to do is to lock in the price of your house,” says Steven Dubb, the principal at The Beechwood Organization, a Jericho-based company founded by his father, Michael Dubb, that has built more than 7,500 homes in 60 communities across the New York metro area since 1985. We took a tour of Beechwood’s latest development in Westhampton Beach for an inside look at buying off floor plans and you can too, in our magazine pages.

Read the original article here

The post 12 Popular Behind The Hedges Magazine Articles in 2022 appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Seasonal visitors have fallen in love with the laid back lifestyle of Westhampton Beach! The Hamptons may be known for their exclusive beaches and resort communities around the world but Westhampton Beach offers residents a coastal destination with a relaxed feel. Located in Suffolk County with a population of only 1,869, Westhampton Beach is without a doubt one of the best places to live in New York. 

Its abundance of natural beauty draws New Yorkers to this stretch of shoreline year-round. The perfect weather, clear water, and slower pace of life slows you down. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, it is no surprise people gravitate to Westhampton — not to mention little-to-no traffic. This seaside hamlet’s vibrant downtown, boutique stores, excellent restaurants, and highly rated schools are why living in Westhampton Beach is an incredible opportunity! If you’re considering moving to Westhampton, find more reasons below why Westhampton Beach is a one-of-a-kind residence. 

Commute to and from New York City

Westhampton is loved by New Yorkers looking for a lavish summer getaway with beach access and a popular choice for those looking to purchase a second vacation home. You’ll find yourself surfing at a seaside resort just after a convenient 90-minute commute east from the city. What makes Westhampton so alluring to New Yorkers come summertime is the convenient drive out east, especially compared to other locations in the Hamptons that experience congested traffic during this time of year. You can also take the beloved seasonal Cannonball train from May through October from Penn Station or the Jitney at one of its many timely stops.

Marinas & White-Sand Beaches

Find grand marinas and magnificent ocean beaches unlike no other in the Hamptons. The Village Marina is an exceptional docking port located just 0.3 miles from the Downtown Shopping District. This quiet and protected basin with spacious slips makes it a splendid location to park your boat. With supermarkets, movie theatres, and beaches, just within a short walk from the marina, The Village Marina is beyond compare.

When you’re looking for a fine day at the beach, Cupsogue Beach at the very end of Dune Road has white sands and great parking. Rodgers Beach is the most popular to visit in Westhampton Beach, brimming with beauty. Westhampton Beach beaches are never terribly crowded and delightful to enjoy on a sunny summer day.

Popular with weekenders and full-time residents alike, people come to Westhampton for the ocean air. There are many pristine marinas and beaches to relish in Westhampton Beach, and living locally means you can get access to exclusive passes.

Restaurant Scene

If you’re considering moving somewhere new, you have to make sure the food is good – and Westhampton definitely does not disappoint in that department! Find everything from lobster rolls, local hole-in-the-walls, or stunning lavish dining experiences. Some great eateries locals rave about are Stone Creek Inn and Dockers Waterside.

Highly Rated Schools

Westhampton Beach is the perfect place to raise a family and its highly-rated public school system is just one of the reasons. Students and faculty alike speak highly of the school’s ability to prepare students for graduation and college. Ranking among the best high schools in the US, Westhampton Beach High School is an exeptional public school.

Seaside Homes

Imagine living within walking or biking distance from everything you need. In Westhampton, there is everything from extravagant mansions to simple beach homes and condo complexes. It’s the Westhampton Beach serenity and carefree lifestyle that makes everyone feel at home.

Famous Performing Arts Center

Westhampton is undeniably known for its performing arts. The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center draws audiences from throughout the East End, playing host to a multitude of famous acts including The Beach Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie, and many more. Take art classes at a regionally-famous arts academy or visit to watch films, dance, comedy, and concerts. All in one arts powerhouse!

High-end Boutique Shopping 

Another attraction at Westhampton Beach is the chic boutique stores! There are plenty of local businesses to walk around, peak inside, and find what you need. Indulge in everything from high-end boutiques, souvenir t-shirt shops and surf shops all around Main Street.

Golf Course and Tennis Club

Westhampton Beach is home to amazing beach and surf clubs. Westhampton Beach Country Club is home to a tennis court and golf course. Or pop on by at Dune Deck Beach Club where they offer a luxurious yet relaxed beach club experience with a waterfront view. If you love golf, geek out at the Quogue Field Club amenities or ride a wave at the Surf Club of Quogue. No matter what sport you’re into, whether it’s golf, tennis, surfing, or you’re just looking to relax by the beach, these beautiful private clubs offer an amazing experience.

These perks among many others are what attracts A-list homeowners including Anderson Cooper and Eli Manning. Beautiful nature escapes, a simple way of life, and stunning residence, leave anyone looking for a new home or vacation getaway with amazing options. Find yourself in a beach town community, enjoying an effortless life at Westhampton Beach. 

Want to explore more of Westhampton Beach living? Explore Beechwood Homes’ Country Pointe Estates Westhampton.

The post Benefits of Living in Westhampton Beach appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Seeking community, fun

A slice of the 55-and-older crowd — relatively more affluent and active than their parents might have been at their age — are seeking that laid-back lifestyle and often expect high-end amenities at the communities they are choosing.

That pool of customers is growing: In 2021, there were about 744,000 residents in Nassau and Suffolk counties over the age of 60, or 26% of the population on Long Island, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That was an increase of 160,000 from a decade earlier, when those 60 and older made up 21% of the Island.

Developers of the rapidly growing complexes, whether with units for rental or for purchase, are taking notice and upping the ante, incorporating private dining rooms, fully equipped gyms and saunas, in-house movie theaters, pickleball courts and clubhouses that serve as spacious, glamorous hubs for activities.

“We are selling a lifestyle,” said Diane Maier, sales agent for The Vineyards at Center Moriches and at Mount Sinai, where prices range from $749,000 to $899,000.

All those perks are factored into the costs of buying or renting at these complexes.

At Country Pointe in Plainview, 90% of the suites and villas are reserved for those 55 and older. Two-bedroom units range from $765,000 to $1.4 million, with homeowners association fees from $540 to $897 and annual taxes varying by model.

On the top floor of a three-level clubhouse there is a ballroom with a bar where galas are held a few times a year, said Robert Spiotto, Country Pointe’s events director. Recent bashes held around the pool and in the ballroom include a black-and-white party and a ’60s revival night.

Many of the events draw up to 300 residents. Even smaller ones, such as “The Joy of Oy” Catskills-style comedy show held in July and a concert by singer Tommy Sullivan, a founding member of the 1960s group The Brooklyn Bridge, draw crowds of 200 members. 

“There is a feeling of camaraderie here,” Spiotto noted. “That is what we provide.”

In addition to elegant clubhouses and large swimming pools, the biggest reason people move to these communities is the socializing. After raising children and holding demanding jobs, living in a resort-like atmosphere often comes with new friendships with others at the same stage of life.

Rentals, too 

Rental communities are also training their eyes on the luxe market. While not specifically for those 55 and older, the units rent to many seniors for the easy lifestyle and conveniences they offer, both inside and outside the developments.

The Selby, a six-story apartment complex overlooking Eisenhower Park in Westbury, opened in September with 210 units and 27 long-term executive suites that rent from $3,200 for a studio to $9,500 a month for a 2,200-square-foot, three-bedroom unit. More than 40% are already leased, according to Suzee Foster, a spokesperson for the Beechwood Organization, which developed the complex.

Built in a French chateau-style, the Selby offers residents a 75-foot outdoor pool and terrace, a great room with garden views, club room with an indoor-outdoor bar, a 6,000-square-foot dining room, fitness room with yoga studio, a tranquility space and private parking with electric car charging.

Beechwood principal Steven Dubb said the new complex follows the success of the luxury rentals at the nearby Vanderbilt, where rents range from $4,300 to $8,000 and was fully leased within six months. There, renters enjoy an outdoor heated pool with cabanas, yoga and fitness studios, fine dining restaurant and cafeteria.

“Whether year-round or part of the year, our residents want a new, well-constructed home with resort amenities and concierge services reflective of their coveted quality of life,” Dubb said.

For Jenkins, the retired correction officer, that means saying goodbye to the days of cutting grass and thinking about oil bills, he said. Now he spends time by the pool at his complex in the summer, meeting friends at the clubhouse, which features a gym and card/game room.

“I worked a long career, 26 years, and it feels good to live a laid-back lifestyle,” Jenkins said.

To read the entire article, visit https://www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate/luxury-senior-55-over-communities-rxmb9ib0

The post Over-55 LI crowd seeks fun-filled luxury communities appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The developer behind a plan to build housing on a 55-acre parcel in Elwood is moving forward with a full environmental review of the land.

The review is a detailed study of the property to explore potential impacts such as traffic, and assess the significance of the proposed project and determine whether any issues can be mitigated or eliminated.

Jericho-based The Beechwood Organization has not said how many units it might propose.

Huntington Town Board member Sal Ferro said in discussions with Beechwood that the company was advised to get a State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, declaration if it planned to move ahead with developing the property located on the corner of Manor Road and Jericho Turnpike.

“Many times when a development plan comes up people will point out the effects it will have on the environment; so rather than have that as an obstacle, do your homework and go through a full New York State review,” he said.

Steven Dubb, principal of Beechwood, wrote in an email to Newsday that the company welcomes the opportunity for the study, which will be conducted by third-party experts.

“We look forward to sharing the outcomes of this rigorous review as part of our commitment to a thoughtful approach in fulfilling demand for new housing for Long Islanders of all ages,” the email said.

At its Nov. 3 town board meeting, the board approved requiring Beechwood to conduct the study, which will be paid for by the developer. If Beechwood moves forward with a proposal, it would seek to go from single-family residence to garden apartment zoning. 

Ferro said the review does not guarantee that the board will consider, approve or hold a public hearing for the project.

In May, Beechwood proposed building 385 town homes and villas for residents ages 55 and older on the parcel. In June, the developer withdrew the zoning change application to hold further discussions with the community.

Dubb said the company’s goal with the project is to increase “attainable housing options” for a wide range of families and individuals. Approximately 20% of the approved units would be designated as “affordable workforce housing” and available to eligible households of all ages at a percentage of Area Median Income.

CORRECTION: The Beechwood Organization will conduct an environmental review on land in Elwood. An earlier version of this story listed the wrong hamlet.

Click here to read the original article

The post Developer that may build town homes in Elwood to begin environmental review process appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Read the full article on https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/long-island-restaurant-week-2022-u6rt4qkd

The post Critics’ picks: Where to eat for Long Island Restaurant Week appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The following list offers a look at just some of the retirement communities worth considering, right here on Long Island.

55+ DEVELOPMENTS FOR SALE OR RENT

Beechwood Homes

The nationally recognized Beechwood Organization, also known as Beechwood Homes and founded in 1985, has built more than 9,500 homes in 70 communities across Long Island, New York City and Saratoga Springs, New York, and is currently expanding into North Carolina. They like to say, they’re “not just selling a home, but a lifestyle.” On Long Island, Beechwood is currently selling Country Pointe communities in Plainview and Yaphank, Meadowbrook Pointe and Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens communities in East Meadow, Marina Pointe in East Rockaway, and both Country Pointe Estates and Oneck Landing in The Village of Westhampton Beach. The Rental collection includes luxury residences at The Selby and The Vanderbilt in Westbury, and The Tides at Arverne by the Sea in Queens. Among completed communities are Meadowbrook Pointe in Westbury and Meadowbrook Pointe Links and Spa in Medford, Country Pointe communities in Bellmore, Coram, Dix Hills, Kings Park, Lake Grove, Manorville, Melville, Miller Place, Ridge and Smithtown. Award-winning communities in Southampton Village are The Latch, Bishops Pond and Bishops Grant.

Scroll down to read the rest of the article!

The post Best places to retire on Long Island appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Occupancy has begun at The Selby, a 237-unit apartment complex at 695 Merrick Avenue in Westbury, New York. The complex is the latest residential development from The Beechwood Organization, a Long Island-based developer that has built nearly 10,000 homes since the 1980s.

The Selby sits on a 5.87-acre parcel next to the town’s Eisenhower Park and golf course. The complex itself measures 582,000 square feet and includes 210 rental apartments, 27 long-term stay executive suites, and a 6,000-square-foot restaurant.

Tenants also have access to a 85-foot-long outdoor pool with lounge areas, a 20,000-square-foot terrace, an indoor lounge and club room, fitness center, spa, library, game room, children’s playroom, business center, and a private dining room with a prep kitchen. There is also an enclosed parking garage with electric vehicle charging stations.

“We created The Selby to reflect the most refined tastes in sophisticated apartment living to be found east of New York City,” said The Beechwood Organization co-founder Steven Dubb. “These are Long Island’s nicest residences, with the nicest lifestyle and in the nicest location, across from Eisenhower Park in central Nassau County.”

Upon entering the building, tenants are greeted by a two-story lobby outfitted in custom millwork, a jeweled chandelier, and etched brass accents. Each home features 10-foot ceiling spans, open floor plans, oversized windows to maximize the flow of natural light and views of Eisenhower Park, and designer fixtures and appliances.

Designed by Ismael Leyva Architects, The Selby is described as French chateau-style revival inspired by the prewar residential buildings along Central Park West in Manhattan.

Homes at The Selby are priced from $3,200 per month for a studio apartment to $9,500 for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home.

Click here to read the original article.

The post The Selby Debuts At 695 Merrick Avenue In Westbury, Long Island appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

WESTBURY, NY — The Selby, a new luxury apartment complex in Westbury, opened earlier this year, and is currently accepting residents.

The Selby, located at 695 Merrick Ave. in Westbury, is a 237-unit building. The six-story building sits on 5.87 acres directly across the street from Eisenhower Park. It is managed by the Long Island-based Beechwood Organization, and was designed by Ismael Leyva Architects.

“We created The Selby to reflect the most refined tastes in sophisticated apartment living to be found east of New York City,” said developer Steven Dubb, principal at The Beechwood Organization. “These are Long Island’s nicest residences, with the nicest lifestyle and in the nicest location, across from Eisenhower Park in central Nassau County. We are delighted to present The Selby and to welcome our new residents.”

The Selby features many amenities for its residents, including a 75-foot outdoor pool and 20,000 square feet of recreation space. There is a grand salon, club room with indoor/outdoor bar, fitness studio with a yoga room, a tranquility spa, an on-site library, game room, children’s playroom, business center and a private dining room. A restaurant is also in the works for the building.

The apartments range from 500-square-foot studios to 2,200-square-foot three-bedroom units. Rent starts at $3,200 a month and goes up to $9,500 a month.

Beechwood also manages The Vanderbilt, located on Corporate Drive in Westbury.

“Those who live in our luxury residences enjoy a high standard of living. They are young couples or professionals with dynamic lifestyles who want turn-key living outside of, but not too far from, New York City,” Dubb said. “They want to stay or live on the Island but are not ready or looking to buy. They may also be empty nesters who relish the space, comfort and privacy of a long-held family abode but not the responsibility of owning it. Whether year-round or part of the year, our residents want a new, well-constructed home with resort amenities and concierge services reflective of their coveted quality of life.”

Click here to read the original article.

The post The Selby, LI’s Newest Luxury Apartment Complex, Opens In Westbury appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Under Michael Dubb’s leadership, The Beechwood Organization has built more than 9,500 homes and 70 communities in Long Island, New York City, Upstate New York and North Carolina since 1985.

His privately owned company is one of the largest builders of single-family and multifamily housing in New York State and has created many notable sophisticated lifestyle communities on Long Island.

A native Long Islander, Dubb is highly active in civic, community and professional organizations. An avid horseman, he is a seven-time leading thoroughbred owner in New York State and has served as a board director of the New York Racing Association since 2008. In this role, Dubb led the effort to create better living conditions for backstretch workers, including the construction and renovation of several dormitories at racetracks in Belmont and Saratoga.

However, Dubb views his greatest achievement for the region as bringing the New York Islanders back to Nassau County. When he learned the NHL team was contemplating a new arena at Citi Field in Queens, he immediately brought his business partner and friend, Charles Wang, to Belmont Park. Together they created the vision for a new arena and presented it to Scott Malkin, a current co-owner of the Islanders, who also liked and approved the idea. Their vision became reality when UBS Arena opened to fans in 2021.

The pinnacle of Dubb’s public service is on behalf of The Belmont Childcare Association, for which he is chairman and past president. In 2002, Dubb spearheaded, built and donated materials for construction of Anna House, a 7,500-square-foot daycare center for the children of Belmont Park’s backstretch workers.
In the 20 years since, 1,200 children from infancy through 7th grade have attended pre-school and after- school programs. This innovative initiative, providing daily education and care for 75 children each year, 365 days a year, was the first of its kind in the nation and set a standard for other racetracks to emulate. In 2011, given the overwhelming need for this program, and to accommodate additional children, Dubb built a 1,500-square-foot extension. In 2020, at Saratoga Race Course, he donated and built a 4,300-square-foot facility, Faith’s House, named after his mother, which opened in 2021.

Dubb is a lifelong director and former two-time president of the Long Island Builders Institute and a former board member of the Long Island Housing Partnership.

The post LIBN: The Power List: 60 Most Powerful Influencers appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Architect Ismael Leyva, FAIA, has designed the new mixed-use property known as The Selby, located at 695 Merrick Ave. The architecture firm was retained by The Beechwood Organization to design the project. The Selby is open for occupancy according to Steven Dubb, principal, The Beechwood Organization.

The development contains 386,000 s/f of residential space and stands six stories. Included in the design are 237 residences, which include 210 rental apartments and 27 long-term stay hotel suites, a 6,000 s/f restaurant, and retail space. A full complement of amenities for tenants include a library lounge area, a club room with indoor-outdoor bar, children’s playroom, fitness studio, 75 ft. outdoor swimming pool and 200,000 s/f terrace, storage and private parking with electric charging station.

“We are thrilled to have worked with The Beechwood Organization on this exciting development,” said Leyva. “In designing this development, we wanted to create a functional yet modern structure with a design reference to the French chateau facades that you often see in the surrounding fine residential areas of Westbury and this region of Long Island. We designed the modern residences for those who desire to have an array of luxury amenities at their fingertips, but also within a design envelope which is a tribute to the historic charm of Westbury.”

The Selby is located on six acres with views of Eisenhower Park, just steps from the front doors of the residences. The interior design of The Selby is in a Refined Traditional Style. A contemporary design interpretation combined with traditional elements, materials and details, that create a balance between comfort and sophistication from the lobby, library and club room to the grand salon, pool terrace and each residence ranging in size from studio to three bedrooms.

“The building has a majestic feel, with unparalleled amenities in a location which maximizes views of Eisenhower Park. The stately and beautiful design captures much of the architectural vernacular seen across Old Westbury, and is reminiscent of the Gold Coast’s Gilded Age estates, as well as New York City’s grand historic co-ops overlooking Central Park,” said Dubb.

“I am grateful to Steven Dubb and The Beechwood Organization who engaged us to design this iconic new residential structure in the heart of the Long Island Gold Coast. We are thrilled to bring this level of luxury design and amenity to future residents of The Selby,” said Leyva.

Ismael Leyva, FAIA, is a Manhattan based architect, known for his iconic residential design projects such as The Greenpoint in Brooklyn, The Alyn in the Upper East Side, and the residences at 15 Hudson Yards, and numerous other developments throughout New York City and the metropolitan region.

New York City based Ismael Leyva Architects, is an internationally recognized architecture, interior design and urban planning firm with offices in New York City and Central America. The firm is recognized by the development and construction industry for its uniquely creative, iconic and practical design. Since the establishment of the firm, Ismael Leyva Architects has built a portfolio of diverse award winning projects featuring responsive designs that address technical, social, and aesthetic requirements. Ismael Leyva Architects is known for the design of prominent buildings such as Icon, The Greenpoint, The Alyn, Hudson 36, The Charles, BKLYN Air, 66 Rockwell, Hilton Garden Inn New York/Midtown Park Ave, Place 57, Oro, Yves and also the design of the luxury residences at Time Warner Center, 15 Hudson Yards and the Zaha Hadid Building.

The Selby, 695 Merrick Ave., is a 237-unit apartment building overlooking Eisenhower Park with 210 rental apartments, 27 long-stay executive suites and an array of amenity-rich spaces for relaxation, fitness, entertaining and recreation. Among these are a 75-foot outdoor pool and terrace with 20,000 s/f of recreation space, great room with garden views, club room with indoor-outdoor bar, fully equipped fitness studio with yoga room, tranquility spa, library, game room, children’s playroom, business center and private event dining room with prep kitchen. In addition, there is private parking with electric car charging and a 6,000 s/f restaurant is in the works. Located in central Nassau County, it is 25 miles from New York City, a short distance to air and commuter friendly rail transport, and minutes from local shopping, dining, sports venues, arts and entertainment centers, and picturesque beaches. Created by The Beechwood Organization, Long Island’s top residential builder, and designed for Beechwood by Ismael Leyva Architects, PC, The Selby opened for occupancy August 2022.

The Beechwood Organization ranks at the forefront of privately-owned and award-winning residential builders nationwide and on the East Coast, is one of the largest developers of single family and multifamily housing in New York State, and is the largest homebuilder and developer of sophisticated lifestyle communities on Long Island. Since 1985, Beechwood has built more than 9500 homes and 70 communities across the New York metro area with new ones on the map in New York City, Long Island from Westbury to the East End, Upstate New York in Saratoga Springs and North Carolina in Charlotte and Chapel Hill. Averaging 3.9 million s/f in new developments year-on-year since 2017, Beechwood transitioned from local builder to national leader ranking #58 of 245 Housing Giants by Professional Builder Magazine in 2020. Long Island Business News cites Beechwood as “the most prolific home builder on Long Island” and honored it as the region’s Top Multi-Family Developer for three years running in 2022, and Residential Developer of the Year for five years to 2018. Development brand names include Arverne by the Sea, Bishops Pond, Country Pointe, Harbor Pointe, Lakeside Pointe, Marina Pointe, Meadowbrook Pointe, Oak Ridge, The Latch, The Selby and The Vanderbilt.

Click here to read the original article

The post Ismael Leyva Architects designs The Selby for The Beechwood Organization appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Catering was by Juniper at the Vanderbilt.
Photography by Mark Kopko.

Click here to read the original article

The post The Selby Grand Opening appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The development contains 386,000 s/f of residential space and stands six stories. Included in the design are 237 residences, which include 210 rental apartments and 27 long term stay hotel suites, a 6,000-s/f restaurant, and retail space. A full complement of amenities for tenants include a library lounge area, a club room with indoor-outdoor bar, children’s playroom, fitness studio, 75-foot outdoor swimming pool and 200,000 s/f terrace, storage and private parking with electric charging station.

“We are thrilled to have worked with The Beechwood Organization on this exciting development,” said Leyva. “In designing this development, we wanted to create a functional yet modern structure with a design reference to the French chateau facades that you often see in the surrounding fine residential areas of Westbury and this region of Long Island. We designed the modern residences for those who desire to have an array of luxury amenities at their fingertips, but also within a design envelope which is a tribute to the historic charm of Westbury. 

The Selby is located on almost six acres of land with views of Eisenhower Park. 

“The building has a majestic feel, with unparalleled amenities in a location which maximizes views of Eisenhower Park. The stately and beautiful design captures much of the architectural vernacular seen across Old Westbury, and is reminiscent of the Gold Coast’s Gilded Age estates, as well as New York City’s grand historic co-ops overlooking Central Park,” said Dubb. 

“I am grateful to Steven Dubb and The Beechwood Organization who engaged us to design this iconic new residential structure in the heart of the Long Island Gold Coast. We are thrilled to bring this level of luxury design and amenity to future residents of The Selby,” said Leyva.

Read the original article here https://nyrej.com/ismael-leyva-architects-designed-the-selby-now-open-for-occupancy

The post Ismael Leyva Architects designed The Selby, now open for occupancy appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

It takes some vision and foresight, but there are plenty of benefits to buying a Hamptons home off floor plans — especially in this economic climate.

“What it allows you to do is to lock in the price of your house,” says Steven Dubb, the principal at The Beechwood Organization, a Jericho-based company founded by his father, Michael Dubb, that has built more than 7,500 homes in 60 communities across the New York metro area since 1985.

With several successfully completed projects on the South Fork, including The Latch, recently completed in Southampton, Beechwood’s latest projects are in Westhampton Beach: Country Pointe Estates, a 22-home residential community on Depot Road, and Oneck Landing, a four-parcel Moriches Bay enclave on Fiske Avenue.

“Pre-construction usually has a discount to what a finished house would cost. You take some of the market risks out of the equation when you buy pre-construction, off of floor plans. Construction cost inflation has been about 3% a month since things started coming back after the lockdowns,” Dubb says. “In a price-conscious world that’s one of the biggest benefits of buying off floor plans.”

Buyers also have the opportunity to customize their homes. “If there are things you want to change, rooms you want to add, bathrooms you want to make smaller, ceilings that you want to make higher — you really get to personalize and customize your home as opposed to buying an existing home where you’re stepping into somebody else’s decision,” he says. “When you buy pre-construction, you have the opportunity to make all those changes, to build it exactly the way that you want.”

Another plus, as opposed to building from scratch, is not having to go out and source a team and deal with all the headaches that come with that, from finding tradespeople to overseeing the build.

There is also the benefit of a warranty. “New York State has warranties that are mandated on new construction and most builders, especially Beechwood, exceed those state-mandated warranties. That, of course, is a lot better than stepping into an existing home where problems might be hidden, might not pop up for a couple of months and you’re on the hook for it entirely,” Dubb says. “It makes it a little bit easier to sleep at night.”

Record of Success With Floor Plans

Once Beechwood’s two Westhampton Beach developments are completed, the firm will have created 129 homes on the East End. In 2013, the company designed Bishops Pond, a 69-home luxury condo community in Southampton Village which became the fastest-selling community of its kind in the Hamptons. Two years later, Beechwood sold out 10 townhomes next door, as well as the four estate homes built at Bishops Grant on North Main Street.

The development at The Latch won design awards for its work at the historic main building and adjacent Terry Cottage, originally designed by the noted architect Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. The 19-condo townhouse community at 101 Hill Street and the single-family home at 109 Hill Street ranged in price from $2.6 million to $7 million. This is Beechwood’s first project in Westhampton Beach.

“I think Westhampton is in the middle of the resurgence,” says Steven Dubb. “It started a couple of years ago and it’s only going to continue to grow because Westhampton: one, it’s really beautiful, and two, it is so much more convenient to get to from parts of Long Island and from New York City.”

For many people who are working hybrid work weeks, and who fell in love with being in the country during COVID, it’s easier to get back and forth to Westhampton from the city; it’s only 75 miles east of Midtown Manhattan, which cuts down on the traffic endured getting to points further east. “And, generally, it’s priced less expensive than other parts of the Hamptons,” he adds.

Vision Required

The Country Pointe Estates are located on the former site of Wholistic Tennis Academy at 44 Depot Road, within walking distance of the Long Island Rail Road Station in Westhampton; it’s just a five-minute drive to Main Street and Dune Road’s beaches. A five-minute drive south is Beechwood’s second development, Oneck Landing, overlooking Moriches Bay at Oneck Lane and Fiske Avenue.

At Country Pointe Estates, the half-acre lots feature homes ranging from 2,700 square feet to 5,900 square feet of living space. Asking prices range from $2.1 million to more than $3.6 million.

The Aberdeen is a new model, just added to the offering at Country Pointe, featuring the same amenities for a buyer who wants to entertain, but with fewer bedrooms than the Atlantic, Beacon and Commodore homes — plus with a better price point.

Floor plans for all four styles show open-concept great rooms and entertainment-ready kitchens, first-floor primary bedrooms and spacious mudrooms — some of the most sought-after features by Hamptons homebuyers. Extensive outdoor living spaces at each home are connected to a pool and a pool house.

Dubb says most buyers desire finished lower levels with space for a pool table, a bar with a “man cave” and a gym.

Prospective buyers are shown floor plans, not just on paper but on a large, interactive screen at Beechwood’s temporary showroom at Country Pointe Estates, where they can swipe through the different exterior and interior designs. (Visitors may even forget they are in a trailer, as it’s stylishly decorated and well-appointed to reflect the houses that will be built!)

Beechwood is using many of the same interior finishes and products that were used at The Latch.

“We’ve got model photography, we have samples of materials, and we’ve got walkthrough videos that we’re able to show prospective purchasers,” he says. “It’s one thing to have words on a page describing a flooring, it’s another to see a photo of it or to be able to pick it up and hold it in your hand.”

Every house at Country Pointe Estates will be unique.

“One of the hardest things about buying off of floor plans is you need to share the vision. You need to be able to use your imagination,” Dubb says.

There is a bit of “self-sorting” that goes on, Dubb says, because people know they are not going to see a finished house before they make the decision.

Some people still struggle to conceptualize it, while others pick it up right away. “We get a lot of buyers who have built houses for themselves or who have been involved in construction or in renovations in their (other) homes,” Dubb says. “Sometimes you can see the wheels turning — sometimes it’s very easy, some people pick it up naturally.”

Getting in Early

Dubb is excited for the model home, which is being framed, to be completed because there is still no substitute for being able to walk through a space. Of course, there is also no guarantee how many homes will be available after the model home is finished, as several lots have already been sold. Its anticipated completion date is early spring of 2023.

Buyers looking for value will jump at the opportunity to buy in this phase. For instance, at Beechwood’s project Weddington Glen in Weddington, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, 50% of the homes available have been sold since Beechwood started selling in March. There is no model home even under construction yet. “It’s entirely off of floor plans and renderings,” Dubb says.

Those buyers will be rewarded in the long run because they got in at the preconstruction prices, and the homes in the community are going to be worth more when construction is complete, Dubb adds.

Just like with Country Pointe Estates in Westhampton Beach and another ongoing project Beechwood has at Oak Ridge in Saratoga, the floor plans and architecture were designed specifically for that location and market.

So what’s the biggest drawback to buying off the floor plan? The lack of immediate gratification, Dubb says, as buyers are purchasing a house not yet built. “If you buy an existing house, you get to move in 30 or 45 or 60 days. That is not the case when you buy pre-construction.”

As for the developer, offering all that customization is a double-edged sword. “We throw ourselves at the feet of our buyers. When we say we offer customization, we mean it.

So that means if somebody decides that they want to put a special kind of tile in their master bathroom, and it’s hard to source, we’ve got to go and figure out how to source it.”

Grappling with the supply-chain issues and labor shortages is a challenge all developers are facing. Dubb reports his industry is starting to see the supply issue normalize. “When we were building The Latch, we were really in the thick of it and we managed to get everybody in for the summer,” he says.

This article appeared as the cover story for the September 2022 issue of Behind The Hedges. Read the digital version here.

Read the original article here.

The post Vision Required: Buying Straight From Floor Plans Offers Big Benefits appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Called The Selby, the 582,000-square-foot, mixed-use development is on 5.87 acres at 695 Merrick Ave. across from Eisenhower Park. The residential portion of the development has 210 rental apartments and 27 long-term stay executive suites, and a 6,000-square-foot commercial space will be home to a future restaurant. 

Among the amenities at The Selby are a 75-foot outdoor pool and terrace with 20,000 square feet of recreation space, grand salon, club room with indoor-outdoor bar, fitness studio with yoga room, tranquility spa, library, game room, children’s playroom, business center and private event dining room with prep kitchen. The property has parking for residents with electric car charging.  

Monthly rents at the Westbury complex range from $3,200 for a 500-square-foot studio apartment to $9,500 for a 2,200-square-foot apartment with three bedrooms and three baths. 

“We created The Selby to reflect the most refined tastes in sophisticated apartment living to be found east of New York City,” Steven Dubb, a Beechwood principal, said in a company statement. “These are Long Island’s nicest residences, with the nicest lifestyle and in the nicest location, across from Eisenhower Park in central Nassau County.”  

The Selby is 40 percent leased and the first residents moved in last month. 

Manhattan-based Ismael Leyva Architects, which has designed several luxury apartment buildings including the Residences at Time Warner Center, Fifteen Hudson Yards and the Zaha Hadid Building along the Highline, worked on the architectural and interior design for the Westbury project.  

“The Selby is designed as a French chateau-style revival building that pays tribute to the charm of its neighborhood with the comfort of modern living homes and an array of luxury amenities,” Ismael Leyva said in the statement. “I am grateful to Steven Dubb and The Beechwood Organization who engaged us to design this iconic new residential structure in the heart of the Long Island Gold Coast. Although these will be luxury rentals at six stories across from Eisenhower Park, they do harken back to the spacious fine high-rise luxury buildings designed along Central Park West in Manhattan by the renowned architects of the mid-twentieth century, Emery Roth and Rosario Candela. We are thrilled to bring this level of luxury design and amenity to residents of The Selby.” 

The development of The Selby follows Beechwood’s luxury rental building called The Vanderbilt, also in Westbury, which opened in 2018. Within six months of its opening in 2018, the 195-unit Vanderbilt, which has 178 apartments and 17 long-term stay executive suites, was fully leased. 

“Those who live in our luxury residences enjoy a high standard of living,” Dubb said in the statement. “They are young couples or professionals with dynamic lifestyles who want turn-key living outside of, but not too far from, New York City. They want to stay or live on the Island but are not ready or looking to buy. They may also be empty nesters who relish the space, comfort and privacy of a long-held family abode but not the responsibility of owning it.” 

Read the original article here.

The post Beechwood Opens Luxury Rental Complex in Westbury appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

By Abby Tegnelia

As Manhattanites continue to move out of the city, and empty nesters long to right-size from larger homes to an easier way of life, the need for amenity-packed luxury apartments outside New York City has reached a crescendo. And The Selby, at press time scheduled for a late-summer grand opening, is poised to be the crème de la crème of the housing trend.

Not only does the French château-like Selby overlook Westbury’s rolling Eisenhower Park, but its focus on nature, serenity and access to fitness options merges wellness and luxury in a completely new way.

“Most apartments and amenity areas have views of Eisenhower Park, and the second-level pool features green landscaping,” says the project’s developer and The Beechwood Organization principal, Steven Dubb. “You don’t feel like you’re on an upper level of a building; it’s more of an organic extension of the park.”

In addition to the 75-foot pool deck (with an adjacent clubhouse), The Selby, home to 210 rental apartments and 27 long-stay executive suites, features an array of amenities that includes a yoga room for daily classes, two treatment rooms, an enormous gym and fitness center, a two-story “grand salon” library, a colorful children’s playroom, and a bar/lounge area that will host happy hours and other socials for residents. A 6,000-square-foot restaurant, spanning two stories and facing Eisenhower Park will be open to the public. Other additional amenity spaces include a business center, conference room, clubroom, catering kitchen, outdoor grilling areas and concierge services.

“We not only have the nicest apartments on Long Island,” says Dubb, “but we offer the nicest lifestyle on Long Island as well.”

Stepping into the majestic two-story lobby sets the stage for grand adventure. The necklace-like chandelier is a knockout, and two elegant marble staircases take your eye up the mezzanine as they curve up and around the check-in desk.

“The two-story windows look out into the open-air, landscaped courtyards, and also onto the park,” Dubb says. “Driving down Merrick Avenue at night, the lit chandelier looks spectacular through the second-story glass.”

The esteemed New York City-based firm Ismael Leyva Architects designed both the U-shaped building and the interior of the condominium-sized residences, which range from studios to three bedrooms plus den. In addition to park views, apartments offer balconies, Viking appliances, quartz countertops, plentiful windows and luxe finishes. The 27 executive suites feature the same amenities, and are fully furnished with custom-designed pieces. Only 25 miles from Manhattan, The Selby is in the heart of Nassau County near the Meadowbrook State Parkway, for an easy 35- to 45-minute drive into the city.
theselbyli.com

Read the original article here

The post Out of the Park appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

While racing draws thousands of visitors to Saratoga Springs every summer, its biggest appeal is its graceful, bustling downtown. Two buildings on Broadway are now undergoing a huge transformation without losing their historic charm. The Adelphi Hotel, which recently underwent a major renovation, will be merged with the adjacent Rip Van Dam Hotel, expanding the number of luxury hotel rooms from 33 to 78 and adding 85 luxury apartments to the Rip Van Dam. We spoke with Larry Roth and Michael Dubb about the renovations.

View the original video here

The post Roth and Dubb Bring New Level of Luxury to Downtown Saratoga appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The post Meet Bob! Director of Events at Country Pointe Plainview appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

A large kitchen and spacious family room echo thoughts of holiday gatherings, while the perfect primary suite sparks images of an oasis for self-care. But there’s more to it than turnkey entry.

Buyers can be confronted with seemingly limitless choices when purchasing a model home, and customization doesn’t come cheap; plus, some say that the process isn’t always smooth. But from multimillion-dollar houses to affordable housing complexes, there’s a model home for everyone. 

After living in Merrick for 35 years, Susan and Scott Horowitz, 62, and 67, respectively, decided to purchase a home in Florida six years ago to use as a winter season and retirement property. It wasn’t until some of their friends moved into Country Pointe in Plainview that they considered a new location back home.

“We were familiar with it [Country Pointe] and I liked the idea that it was a community, perfect for us for this stage in life,” said Susan Horowitz, a retired teacher who shared that she and her husband, who owns a food distribution company, paid more than $1 million for the Madison Home model, with an additional $50,000 in upgrades. Although the options are costly, Horowitz was experienced in looking at model homes, having done so for her Florida property.

“The value was there for a model home, but the other big consideration was the fact that I know people moving there now and into other properties who are having a hard time getting in,” she said.

The couple purchased the model as a move-in ready home, including furniture and décor pieces. They kept all the appliances, because new ones were back-ordered due to COVID and high demand.

“Brand-new construction with a new kitchen that was move-in ready — where else can you go and do that? It was a good situation for us,” said Horowitz, who closed on her home at the end of last year.

“People want simple and convenient, especially the 65 and older population,” said Irene Rallis, a licensed associate broker with Douglas Elliman. “New, clean, no issues — and they can get that all for a reasonable price.” She noted that many buyers are snowbirds looking for a smaller living space while they are on the Island.

“Homeowners can view a model home purchase like this as a good investment,” she said. “The carefree and downsizing mentality applies to both populations who are looking for model homes: they want move-in ready and maintenance-free.”

Choices, choices

Michael Dubb, founder and CEO of the Beechwood Organization, which developed Country Pointe, said the purpose of the model home is to give the potential homebuyer a sense of what they can do or purchase with the model home.

“We have a certain type of buyer; some fall in love with the model and just want that, while others will make changes, such as a different color kitchen or countertop or different wooden floor,” he said.

There are up to a dozen models at Country Pointe Plainview — ranging from 1,200 to 3,000 square feet — with prices starting in the high $700,000s to $1.5 million. According to Dubb, who partners with his son, Steven, a fully furnished home includes everything from lighting fixtures and furniture to knickknacks, bedding and window treatments. The process of making decisions on a model home begins at purchase and ends right before drywall goes up.

According to Dubb, and in Horowitz’s own experience, everything cost-wise is transparent. Homebuyers are given the information upfront of what the property comes with and what each additional project or upgrade will cost. Homeowners association fees and taxes are other costs, but they are not surprise expenses.

The allure of a model home is peace of mind. “When you buy a new home, there’s no mystery,” Dubb said. “It comes with a warranty, the customer service is there, and all of the bugs are taken out of it. When you buy a resale, you don’t know what’s going on behind the walls of the house.”

Read the original article on Newsday

The post For a move-in ready experience, model home options appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Sustained demand and limited supply have kept the Hamptons real estate market hot, even as the number of transactions has slipped. 

The median price of a home in the upscale New York enclave reached $1.6 million in the second quarter, up 13.9% annually and 14.3% compared to the first three months of the year, according to a Thursday report from Douglas Elliman. 

However, the number of sales was down 34.7% year over year, from 675 in the second quarter of 2021 to 441 in the same time frame in 2022, the data shows. 

“Price trends pressed higher as sales volume slowed, responding to a combination of lack of supply and rising mortgage rates,” wrote Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the appraisal company Miller Samuel and the author of the report..

Although listing inventory was down 17.1% annually, it registered a 33.5% jump compared to the first quarter, according to the report. About a third of sales were subject to multiple bids.

For the luxury segment, the top 10% of sales, the median price rose 30.8% year over year to $8.5 million in the second quarter, the figures show. Sales dropped 33.8% annually, from 68 to 45, while inventory was down 27.6%. 

Meanwhile, Hamptons transactions have grown in the short term, jumping from the first three months of the year, according to a separate second quarter report from Corcoran, also released Thursday.

“Reported sales decreased annually in all South Fork villages and hamlets but increased in more than half of the areas compared to first quarter 2022,” according to the report. “Southampton and Southampton Village improved most significantly quarter-over-quarter, increasing 41% and 43%, respectively.” 

Westhampton Beach was the neighborhood that had the biggest rise in its median price across all price points, seeing an 82% jump to $1.3 million, the Corcoran data showed. In addition, the number of sales was up 13%.

East Hampton Village had the steepest median price of any neighborhood out east—$5.7 million—while East Quogue/Hampton Bays had the lowest, $750,000, according to the report.

Read the original article on Mansion Global here

The post Low Supply and Rising Rates Slow Hamptons Sales, but Prices Are Still Going up appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

For example, take a look at our newly revealed list of nearly 3,200 restaurants that have earned Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards in 2022. This year’s winning restaurants, each offering outstanding wine programs, hail from all 50 states and more than 70 countries and territories. The awards are given across three categories: Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and Grand Award. We are excited to honor all of these restaurants for their hard work and dedication.

Explaining why the awards matter so much to restaurants, sommelier Jason Ferris said, “When guests see that [Wine Spectator] plaque, or that logo on your menu, it gives them confidence that your wine program stands out among its peers.” The restaurant where he works, the Park Inn in Hammondsport, in New York’s Finger Lakes wine region, was upgraded to Best of Award of Excellence this year.

Read the entire article https://www.winespectator.com/articles/wine-spectator-reveals-2022-restaurant-award-winners-1

Find Juniper here https://www.winespectator.com/restaurants/6331/juniper

The post Juniper’s Wins First Wine Spectator Award appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Juniper is already making a name for itself with its combination of delicious cuisine and fine décor.

Hailed as a “hidden gem” among Long Island’s competitive restaurant scene by their many ecstatic customers, Juniper at the Vanderbilt is a newer entry to the local eatery scene, but is already making a name for itself with its combination of delicious cuisine and fine décor, nestled in the center of the Vanderbilt By Beechwood Homes apartment complex in Westbury, New York. One of the four restaurants and event space venues under the umbrella of the Civetta Hospitality group – which also includes Amali in New York City, Calissa of Water Mill, and Bar Marseille of Rockaway Beach – Juniper at the Vanderbilt is the company’s newest venue, having opened their doors for business just over one year ago on May 20 of 2021…smack dab in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Opening during the worst of the pandemic presented a unique set of challenges amid the various restrictions and lockdown measures that were in place at the time. However, Juniper not only managed to stay afloat during those very troubling times, but according to General Manager John Nicoletti, business has consistently increased month-to-month ever since they first opened. “It was definitely a war of attrition, surviving the spikes around the holidays,” he said. “Where we were and where we are, we’ve shown steady growth, and secretly, we’ve become a great destination for events that are under 100 people. We really do a fair number of events on the weekends, such as smaller weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, retirement parties.” 

 “I love when I read the reviews and I see the words ‘hidden gem’ and ‘secret spot,’” Nicoletti continued, referring to Juniper’s off-the-beaten-path location within the Vanderbilt. “The biggest hurdle we really face is getting people up the driveway at the Vanderbilt. We’re in the middle of the building so we don’t really have street frontage, so it’s become more of a place for those that know about us. We rely on the buzz of people spreading the word.” Executive Chef Chris D’Ambrosio – trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie – categorizes Juniper as an American grill, but one diversely influenced by his many personal experiences while traveling abroad for a number of years. “We have a lot of different steaks and seafood, but I come from an Italian-American household and I’ve traveled the world, and what is America but a melting pot of ethnicities and cuisines? So I like to include those experiences in the menu as well,” he said. “So we have influences from Asia, Europe, and all the different places that I’ve visited. So our menu is sort of the story of my past, if you will.” D’Ambrosio noted that the restaurant offers a chef’s seasonal menu, highlighting different products throughout the course of the year based on a lot of locally-sourced meats, fish, and vegetables. 

 “From the East Coast here we get oysters, halibut, sardines, and a lot of other local items that are very fresh and delicious,” he said.  Juniper at the Vanderbilt is deceptively spacious, Nicoletti said, able to accommodate up to 176 patrons if need be, and offering both indoor seating and an outdoor patio overlooking the Vanderbilt’s pool, if weather permits. “The restaurant has a very natural resort-style feel to it, with lots of glass facing the outside, very high vaulted ceilings, good usage of natural light, and a lot of things that essentially highlight the space itself,” he said. “We use a lot of white marble, and it’s a very beautiful space, it truly is. And the building itself…Beechwood Homes, the developer, always does a magnificent job, and they spare no expense. The quality of craftsmanship is second to none, and it really has helped us with wedding bookings as a venue.” Nicoletti boasts an extensive history in the restaurant business, having worked in it since the tender young age of 13; as time went by, his reputation grew and he began to hold a number of high profile gigs. 

 “As a Northport native, I started as a prep cook at the Shipwreck Diner in Northport, and later went to college while moonlighting as a bartender. But I started really getting into fine dining when I was working for the Bohlsen Restaurant group,” he said. “I was a long-time head bartender at Tellers Chophouse in Islip, and then became the corporate head bartender for them for many years.” From there, Nicoletti went on to Anthony Scotto Restaurants, initially hired to be the Director of Bar Operations. However, when the COVID-19 hit, things changed significantly, but while many employers laid off many of their workers during the worst of things, Nicoletti noted that he was treated about as well as could possibly be. “They were great to me, and they ensured that I would have a position,” he said. “So when they rebranded One North to Opus Steakhouse, they made me Assistant General Manager. Then I met the partners at Civetta Hospitality, and it was almost an instant connection. That’s when I went over to be the General Manager at Juniper. It was just a no-brainer.” The decisively kind and empathic treatment he has experienced while employed by Civetta, he said, was outside of the norm of his involvement in the restaurant business throughout the years. 

 “It should be noted that for an industry that typically tends to be pretty thankless, the way that Civetta operates is really impressive. They treat their employees very well…we have every major holiday off, and they try to focus on kindness and understanding in a way that I’ve never experienced in this business,” he said. “Ultimately, the hospitality industry as a whole doesn’t really offer good quality-of-life, but Civetta really focuses on it and it’s hard not to appreciate that.” Ultimately, Nicoletti said that he’s found his time heading up Juniper at the Vanderbilt to be incredibly rewarding, and he relishes the opportunity he’s had to continue build it from the ground-up into one of Long Island’s premier eateries, combining ambiance, atmosphere, fine accommodations, and a unique take on popular American cuisine. “There are definitely more gray hairs on top of my head than when I started, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to work with Chef Chris, and we have a small staff here that are incredibly hard-working, and a lot of them have been with me through multiple restaurants. I love to note that, because the success of this restaurant really has nothing to do with anybody but them. That’s the truth.” To find out more about Juniper at the Vanderbilt, please call 516-820-1200 or visit https://www.juniperlongisland.com.

The post Juniper at the Vanderbilt: American-Style Restaurant Hailed as Long Island’s “Hidden Gem” by Customers appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Finding affordable quality day care is a struggle most working parents face, but for parents working on the backstretches of America’s racetracks, the combination of low pay and early hours make it even more of a challenge. For years, too many backstretch parents were forced to leave their children in less-than-ideal situations or drive to work at 5 a.m. with their kids sleeping in the back of their car.

But in the late 1990s, after talking to his good friend Jerry Bailey about the situation, Michael Dubb took matters into his own hands and built Anna House, a model day care program for backstretch workers located right in the Belmont barn area.

This past Tuesday, a dozen children graduated from the program, and will head to the local public school system this fall. But the Anna House care doesn’t stop there. Early-morning care, breakfast, after-school care, tutoring, summer programs, and literacy programs for parents are all a part of the remarkable and comprehensive system overseen by the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA).

“Most of the children come from bilingual families, and so we teach them English first and foremost,” said Dubb. “We teach them computer skills. We teach them arts and crafts. We teach them interaction. We teach them gardening. We teach them how to play chess. We teach them how to climb walls. We teach them how to build character and confidence. And it really sets them up for life. These are happy, exuberant kids ready for the challenges that life is going to bring them and ready to excel.

For the past 10 years, Libby Imperio has served as the President of the BCCA, and oversees fundraising, grants to expand the programs offered, and more.

“I became involved because my husband and I went to their Saratoga fundraiser, Racing for the Children. And they had a wish list asking for diapers, books, changing tables, formula and with the thousands of fundraisers we go to, no one had ever asked me for a specific item before, and it really tugged at my heart. That was the beginning. And I just kept asking, `What can I do? What can I do?’”

Years later, she knows the answer.

Since its inception, Anna House has gone beyond educating preschool children and has expanded its programs to parent literacy, basic childcare, and more.

“I’m so proud of our expansions,” said Imperio. “Our first expansion was after-school tutoring, which we provide to up until 13 years old. Then we took that concept and provided a school-age program, so our graduates and even kids that did not originally attend here who are in elementary school, when they have the day off or school vacation, they have now a safe and healthy and nurturing place to attend. And we have about 20 kids enrolled in that program.”

The BCCA and Dubb built Faith House in Saratoga so that workers relocated for the eight weeks could bring their children knowing they would have a safe place to go for a summer which involves both learning and fun.

They also provide basic life and childcare skills. “We joined with the other backstretch charities, BEST and the Racetrack Chaplaincy to develop `The ABCs of Life’ for the mothers of the backstretch,” she said. “That course is teaching things that we all take for granted: how to write a check, nutrition on a low income, basic health and dentistry for children, cooking, and just your basic ABCs of life. But my favorite program has become the women’s literacy program. It started out with about just five moms on the backstretch, and we now have about 25 mothers. And it makes me so happy because that just will help not just themselves, but their children as they go forward in life.”

Tuesday’s graduation was the 20^th time that the Anna House kids left the program to head for the public schools, and Dubb said that some of them were now circling back.

“I’ve seen familiar faces back here at the racetrack working,” said Dubb. “But one of them, a young child at the racetrack named Angel Torres whose father was an assistant trainer, he was a child of the backstretch, and went on from here to get his college degree. And he’s one of the now one of the top financial people at my company.”

Anna House’s most important fundraiser is coming up at Saratoga, said Imperio-the very event she attended all those years ago which inspired her involvement. Every year, the BCCA needs to raise $1.7 million for operations.

“Our biggest fundraiser of the year is Racing for the Children, being held in downtown Saratoga August 25th at the Universal Preservation Building (at 25 Washington Street). It’s a new location for us this year, so we’re really excited about it. I think it will be a beautiful event.”

Dubb said that initially, he saw the need and thought as a builder, he could fix it, and move on.

“When I built this, I really just wanted to donate a building and ride off into the sunset,” he said. “But I couldn’t do it. And in 20 years, I’m most proud of the children and I’m most proud of their parents. This is the real American dream. Come here to work hard and to do right by your kids. That’s what my grandparents did. And I’m just so happy that I can share my good fortune and make this happen, but it’s really not about me. This is the gift that keeps giving to me. It brings me more pleasure than anything else on the racetrack-more pleasure than winning any kind of race. A race is for a moment, but a child’s life is for a lifetime. And knowing that we’re making a difference, really, that’s what really, really drives me.”

To make a donation to Anna House, or to learn more about their upcoming fundraisers, visit www.belmontchildcare.org.

The post Anna House Graduation: Child Care and So Much More appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Original article from LongIsland.com

Author: Chris Boyle

The post Country Pointe Shops in Plainview, New York Announces Full Occupancy appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The South Creek development by the New York based developer Beechwood Organization is proposing 650 units of housing on 40 acres of land with an additional 80 acres preserved for greenspace. The space will also be accompanied by 42,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.

A rendering of the townhomes proposed by the developer. Early concept plans of South Creek plan for 103 townhomes and 546 condos (Photo via Beechwood Organization).

The project aims to fill in the “missing middle” housing gap in Chapel Hill with a mix of townhomes and condos. Housing consultants have told the town it needs to grow by roughly 485 homes each year to meet the rising demand.

Following years of negotiations and approval by the town, East West Partners, the original developers of Obey Creek, said their mixed-use project would not be built because demand for office and retail space has decreased since its original approval in 2015.

Earlier this month the Chapel Hill Community Design Commission reviewed concept plans of the project. While no formal action was taken at the meeting, the commission provided the developer with feedback before they submit the final application to the town.

John Oxenfeld is the primary architect on the project. He said the design for South Creek was based on the culture of Chapel Hill.

“It’s really influenced by our vision for what South Creek is, which is deeply influenced by the areas agrarian roots, the natural landscape, the dynamic community, the proximity to the hospital and the university,” Oxenfeld said. “It’s our goal to make a place that celebrates all these unique qualities.”

Beechwood’s concept plan show three-story townhouses and four- to seven-story condo buildings. Shorter buildings would be near the highway, with taller buildings further down the hill. Oxenfeld said the goal was to create seamless interactions between the site and Wilson Creek, which is adjacent to the property.

Concept plans for South Creek show 40 acres for housing and 80 acres preserved for greenspace. The buildings range from three to seven stories depending on topography (Photo via Beechwood Organization).

The site is also adjacent to the U.S. 15-501 South highway. Lee Bowman, the development consultant on the project, said he believes this is an important project because of its proximity to Southern Village.

“We understand, and don’t take lightly, this opportunity we have,” Bowman said. “This is the gateway from the southern side of Chapel Hill into town. As we are looking at that concept, it has been in our mind as well as how traffic interacts with the project site.”

Before that gateway can be created, however, the design commission is calling for improved pedestrian safety so people can safely cross the highway. Commission member Susan Lyons said the current plans do not accommodate residents who want to walk across the street to Southern Village for shopping or recreation because of the existing highway.

“The transition to 15-501, which is a highway,” Lyons said. “It’s an interstate highway, and I think recognizing we have houses facing that is going to be significant.”

A rendering of the proposed retail in South Creek. Concept plans say there will be about 42,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on the site across from Southern Village (Photo via Beechwood Organization).

Lyons said it would be a shame to have this new development force people to get in their cars to cross the street. She also said she was concerned about the price of the buildings.

“I have a hard time seeing how you’re going to meet a price point that leaves this in the missing middle,” Lyons said.  “With the materials that you have, the grading issues and the quality and look of those buildings. I hope you can because this is what a project should look like.”

Despite these concerns, Bowman said he and the Beechwood team remain committed to providing multifamily housing in a walkable community.

“Our goal with all of our housing here is to hit that missing middle within the town and frankly, the nation at large for the need for more middle market housing,” Bowman said. “The ability to leverage the BRT, and UNC hospitals, and the university only a mile or two away, we really envision a transit-friendly development that can provide quick, non-car commutes up to those job centers at UNC and the hospitals.”

The concept plans will go through revisions and town staff before being voted on by the Chapel Hill Town Council. The council would have to terminate the Obey Creek development agreement before negotiating a new permit for Beechwood.

Original article from Chapelboro.com

Author: Benjamin Rappaport

The post 650 Homes Proposed at South Creek to Neighbor Southern Village appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The Beechwood Organization this week launched a marketing website for The Selby, a 582,000-square-foot project with 210 apartments and 27 hotel units overlooking Eisenhower Park. The six-story development includes a dining room for private events, a club room with an indoor-outdoor bar, a terrace with an outdoor pool, a fitness studio that offers spa services and a 6,000-square-foot restaurant.

The residence, at 695 Merrick Ave., may not require all that much promotion, according to Beechwood principal Steven Dubb. He said “several thousand” people requested updates on the construction of The Selby and will be invited to tour the grounds as Beechwood prepares for tenants to move in this summer.

Beechwood, a Jericho-based development firm that has built more than 7,500 homes, designed a prior luxury apartment project when it got several requests for leases at one of its condo projects, Dubb said. That apartment building, The Vanderbilt, was fully leased within six months of opening in 2018, according to Beechwood. Rents there range from $4,299 to $8,000 for one-, two- and three-bedrooms.

“We had a thesis that the Vanderbilt would work, but we were surprised by how strong demand was,” Dubb said. “As demographics age on Long Island and what [residents] want in housing changes, I just think it’s nice to be able to build something that keeps up with those changing needs.”

Both projects attract retirees, who, without children at home, don’t want a house or the responsibilities that come with it, such as clearing the gutters and shoveling snow, Dubb said. Other likely tenants include former Long Islanders who are looking to move back, but don’t know where they’ll land on the Island.Get the Biz Briefing newsletter!

The latest LI business news in your inbox Monday through Friday.Sign up

By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.

Named for Dubb’s wife, The Selby has oak floors, Viking appliances and cabinetry from the German company, Störmer. Monthly rents will range from $2,700 for a 500-square-foot studio to $8,000 for a 2,200-square-foot, three-bedroom. Most units will lease for $4,500 to $5,500 a month, Dubb said.

These are not “normal” rates on the Island, but there’s a market for The Selby, according to Mitch Pally, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, a trade group for developers and construction firms.

“I would foresee a continuation of this type of demand,” Pally said, noting that remote work may make similar residences on Long Island appealing to those who previously sought them in New York City.

The average asking rent in Nassau County is just under $2,590 a month, according to Moody’s Analytics, an economic research and consulting firm. At 5.1%, the county’s apartment vacancy rate is higher than its average over the past decade and than rates in Suffolk County, Moody’s Analytics said. The construction of nearly 900 apartments in the past two years has helped push up the number of empty units.

“I think you’ll see they will all be absorbed in the next year,” Pally said. “I have not seen or heard from my members that they’re having any difficulty in renting market-rate or even above-market-rate units.”

Stays in the hotel units will cost about $200 to $400 a night, Beechwood said.

The developer hasn’t decided who will run the restaurant on site, but said the eatery will be open to the public.

Original article from Newsday

Author: Sarina Trangle

The post A $125 million project in Westbury aims to elevate apartment living with a fitness studio and spa, a 75-foot outdoor pool appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

One December day, I found myself at one of New York City’s few designated surf spots, the south end of Beach 69th Street. I was accompanied by stalwart herring gulls, a guy sweeping a metal detector across the sand, and Dillon O’Toole, my surfing instructor. The sky was Berlin Wall gray and filled with the sounds of JFK-bound jets winding down their engines. The water—which I found myself in quite frequently after being tossed off my surfboard—was freezing. And yet it had the very real virtue of being warmer than the air. Afterward, I stood next to my car and tried to peel off my wet suit with numb hands, blasting the car’s heat to little effect.

Related: How to Have the Perfect Day at NYC’s Rockaway Beach

The author prepares to dive in. | CREDIT: DAVID CORTES

I was hooked. After decades of living in New York, I’d found a place only a short drive away where I could be virtually alone; where I could free myself momentarily from phones and deadlines; where I didn’t have to wait in line or pay expensive membership fees; where a pod of dolphins might silently break the dark surface of the water a dozen feet away. In summer, this same beach would be packed, but in the winter, it felt purifying and monastic.

As much as I fell for the surfing, I fell for the place itself. It was illegal to surf off this beach for many years, as Diane Cardwell writes in her memoir Rockaway: Surfing Headlong Into a New Life, which gave it a sort of “rebel edge.” You need a certain constitution to handle the winter seas—which, inconveniently, produce the best waves. “Rockaway simply wasn’t your average beach town,” Cardwell writes, “and had none of the aloha spirit of Hawaii or good vibrations of California.”

I stood next to my car and tried with numb hands to peel off my wet suit, blasting the car’s heat to little effect. I was hooked.

But still, by New York City standards, it felt to me like a small town, with its own peculiar vibe and cast of characters. Whenever I headed to the water, I’d stop by the Rockaway Beach Bakery, a standout among the new businesses that have arrived in the past few years. Over a coffee and a ham-and-cheese croissant, I’d read The Wave, Rockaway Beach’s newspaper since 1893, which must be New York’s only newspaper with a surf column, Down by the Jetty. Pastry chef Tracy Obolsky, who owns the bakery, began surfing at Rockaway about six years back. She recalls sitting in the water and thinking, We should look into moving here. After she convinced her husband, she was for a while “slinging croissants” out of a temporary space in a marina before opening her own storefront.

Rockaway Beach Bakery is a popular spot for pastries before or after surfing. | CREDIT: DAVID CORTES

“The surfing culture has really exploded,” Obolsky told me one February afternoon last year. There are days when she will close a bit early to go surf (“which is very Rockaway”). On her days off, she notes, “people will see me in the water and be like ‘Oh, does that mean I can’t get a croissant?'”

Since I began surfing there, I’ve seen growing evidence of a sea change. Mike Reinhardt—a Rockaways native and cofounder of Locals Surf School, the outfit that gave me my early lessons—wore bulky scuba-diving wet suits when he was a kid, but the more recent ubiquity of neoprene has made winter “less of a far-fetched proposition.” He’s been seeing ever greater numbers of winter surfers: “You’d be lucky to have anyone join you in the past. Now you’d be lucky to have the waves to yourself.”

More Trip Ideas: This Isolated Village in the Faroe Islands Is Also a Surprising Surf Destination

And where years ago I used to change, shivering, on the street, I can now avail myself of the showers and storage lockers at Locals Collective Café, which is run by Locals Surf, on the ground floor of the Tides at Arverne by the Sea, a luxury apartment building at Beach 69th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard. The Tides also boasts cheery food options, like Super Burrito and Bar Marseille (entrées $25–$42), a French restaurant, plus a wine shop, Vino by the Sea.

Surfers waiting to catch a break in the Rockaways. | CREDIT: DAVID CORTES

Perhaps the biggest change is the arrival, in late 2020, of the Rockaway Hotel (doubles from $250), a six-story, 53-room structure designed by Morris Adjmi Architects (who did the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn) with interiors by Curious Yellow Design, a New York and Oslo firm. Partner Jon Krasner, who is also a co-owner of Montauk’s Hero Beach Club, told me he’s hoping the hotel will help make the Rockaways more than a seasonal destination, given its proximity to a large population base, the “staycation” vibe, and space for corporate retreats—plus an area devoted to surf lockers.

After all, in the 19th century, before air travel, the area was a prime holiday destination, boasting sprawling resorts like the Marine Pavilion and Rockaway Beach Hotel (then billed as the largest in the world). “It’s pretty crazy,” Reinhardt noted, “that Rockaway hasn’t had a place to stay in that long. What other beach town isn’t filled with hotels?”

The Rooftop, a restaurant at the Rockaway Hotel. | CREDIT: DAVID CORTES

On Valentine’s Day weekend last year, with socially distanced indoor dining just reopened, my wife and daughter and I headed to the property’s Rooftop restaurant, which is helmed by chef Barry Tonks. While it was too cold to take advantage of the outdoor terrace, the view was remarkable: to one side, the last embers of daylight sinking into the Atlantic; to the other, the lights of the distant Manhattan skyline. It was a reminder that as far out as the Rockaways can seem, they’re still firmly in New York’s orbit.

A version of this story first appeared in the February 2022 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline Swell With Pride.

original article on Travel and Leisure

Author: Tom Vanderbilt

The post Why Winter Is the Best Season to Surf at New York’s Rockaway Beach appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Sold Price: $4,287,500
Closed: January 25, 2022

Unit 7 at The Latch, a new luxury condominium complex by Beechwood in the heart of Southampton Village, is a single-family townhouse. It features a dramatic open floor plan, double-height ceilings, oversized windows and top-of-the-line finishes. Douglas Elliman, Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty had a tri-exclusive and we hear that this was sold in-house by Beechwood Homes. The last ask was $4.4 million. The Latch is now sold out.

Original article on Behind the Hedges

Author: Taylor K. Vecsey

The post Recent Hamptons Sales: $15M for a House in Sagg, Nearly $9 Million for a Montauk Pad and More appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The development, designed by Jim McMullan of Fleetwood & McMullan and Jason Poremba of Jason Thomas Architect, earned a Platinum award for Historic Preservation and Restoration and a Gold award for Single Family Community Under 100 Units.

“This is a high honor greatly appreciated by Beechwood and the entire team who worked with us to bring forward the best of the past for future generations to enjoy this beautiful property,” said Steven Dubb, The Latch’s developer and the principal at The Beechwood Organization.

In the early 1900s, the property, known as The Village Latch, was “the Grand Annex to Southampton’s Irving Hotel across Hill Street,” Steven Dubb, Beechwood’s founder and CEO, told Dan’s Papers in 2020. “Reported guests included Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, the duPonts, Fords and Vanderbilts, and Hollywood stars,” he said.

In 2016, Beechwood bought the approximately five-acre parcel with an inn that was operated 67 rooms across several run-down buildings.

The two turn-of-the-20th-century buildings — the iconic main Latch building and the adjacent Terry Cottage, which had been moved from across the street — were designed by noted Gilded Age architect Sanford White of McKim, Mead & White (White designed many iconic Hamptons homes, such as the Sevens Sisters homes in Montauk, the most famous of which talkshow host Dick Cavett sold last year).

With the architects’ designs and consultation from Zach Studenroth, the village historian, the exteriors have been preserved. With work complete, cedar-shingled white structures, designed in Federal Revival Period with Dutch Colonial touches, have been returned to their former glory.

The original 40-room Latch building was converted into two townhouses. Beechwood renovated the interior of the Terry Cottage and it remains a single-family home.

Behind the two historic structures, visible from Hill Street, are 17 new townhouses and a McMullan-designed clubhouse on a private cul-de-sac. The townhomes appear connected by a single shingle-style facade. The homes feature open floorplans and high finishes and appliances, while the clubhouse provides a fitness center and outdoor pool.

Pre-construction sales began in 2021 with homes ranging from $2.6 to $7 million — and all units were sold by the end of the year.

Part of the NAHB‘s Best in American Living Awards, they are considered the nation’s top honor for home builders in the largest network of craftsmen, innovators and problem-solvers. An awards ceremony was held at the 2022 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida.

The Latch also received a Vision Long Island Smart Growth Award in 2021.

This was the third project in Southampton Village for Beechwood, one of the largest developers of single-family and multifamily housing in New York State. The developer was also behind 69 luxury condominium units at Bishops Pond on South Magee Street, as well as Bishops Grant on North Main Street where there are four estate homes.

Founded by Michael Dubb, Beechwood has built more than 7,500 homes in 60 communities across the New York metro area since 1985, including new developments in Saratoga and New York City.

Original Article from Behind the Hedges

Author: Taylor K. Vescey

The post The Latch in Southampton Village Earns Two National Awards appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Original article from Patch
By Alex Costello and Lanning Taliaferro

The post Plainview Named One Of The Best Places To Live In America appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

With a lineup of some of the area’s high-end homes, Potoker said it’s the perfect event to get people out to enjoy all that Saratoga has to offer.

The 2021 Saratoga Showcase of Homes is being presented over two fall weekends: Oct. 9, 10 and 11; and Oct. 16 and 17.

Tickets will also be available at any showcase home during tour hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or can be purchased online at www.saratogashowcaseofhomes.com. The site includes an interactive map of home locations.

“Last year with the pandemic, we had to pivot and have the showcase as a TV show special. It was so important to us to be able to honor this tradition in its 25th year, and so we are so happy to be able to bring it back as an in person event, which is the best way to really show off what these spectacular homes have to offer,” said Potoker.

This year’s edition has 13 homes on display from 12 builders in Saratoga County.

Participating builders include The BDC Group, Beechwood Homes, Bella Home Builders, Belmonte Builders, Bonacio Construction, Caruso Builders, Kodiak Construction, Kohler Homes, McPadden Builders, R & M Homes, Trojanski Builders and Witt Construction.

The show is produced by the Saratoga Builders Association, a nonprofit, specialized professional trade organization that has donated over $1.3 million to local community charities over the past 24 years through the showcase event.

“Through this event we have been fortunate enough to give back to some very special charities,” said Potoker.

Proceeds from the Saratoga Showcase of Homes benefit Rebuilding Together Saratoga County and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.

There are also other special events in the works to help commemorate the special anniversary. Potoker said each showcase ticket holder will receive a free tote bag at the first home they visit.

Hundreds of those in the real estate industry also take part in an awards ceremony where they honor all different aspects of the homes on display.

The event, Potoker said, takes about 300 volunteers to bring it together. He said they did run up against some challenges with builders waiting on materials and labor, challenges that were felt across the industry.

“We did have some lag time with supply chains for materials, and of course the labor market has been tough. So, with all that, we are especially grateful to be at this point. People love it and we are so happy to do it,” said Potoker.

Tickets are $25, available at all Adirondack Trust Co. branch locations, Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa, Saratoga National Bank on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs and Roohan Realty on Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

Original article from Saratoga.com
By Jennifer Farnsworth

The post Showcase Of Homes Marks 25th Anniversary, Returns To In-Person Event This October appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Beechwood hopes to complete the rezoning process by next year and to start construction soon after that. The company hopes to open its first homes by 2024. “We are delighted to officially join the Chapel Hill community. We look forward to continuing our thoughtful discussion with the Town of Chapel Hill, and collaborating with all of our stakeholders, on the shape of our proposed new mixed-use development,” said Robert Kardos, regional president for the Carolinas with The Beechwood Organization.
The project is situated along Highway 501 across from Southern Village, south of downtown Chapel Hill.
The company recently launched its presence in North Carolina with an office in Charlotte and brought on Kardos, a 35-year North Carolina real estate veteran. He said the company is working extensively with the town and local groups to shape the plans for the project.
“We’re still in the collaborating process,” Kardos said. “We’ve had a number of meetings with staff and planners and other civic organizations. The past several months we’ve been collecting the feedback with the intent to use it.”
Among the changes groups have requested, and Beechwood is looking to implement, include the inclusion of workforce housing with rents below the market rate.

Kardos said pricing for market rate units will likely start in the $400,000s and go up to the $800,000s or higher, depending on the market.
The retail component is currently slated to feature a collection of boutique shops, restaurants and services. The community will also be highly amenitized with a network of walking trails throughout and extensive open space.
“Our goal is to provide the greater Chapel Hill community with a development that speaks to its residential and commercial real estate needs in a way that encompasses our shared values: sustainability, stewardship, environmentalism, inclusiveness and responsible growth,” Kardos said. “Over the coming months, we will consult with local groups and individuals to understand their hopes and wishes for South Creek.”

Architecture firm 505Design is the designer on the project.
South Creek is Beechwood’s first foray into the Triangle market, and Kardos said it’s the company’s only project currently in the works in the region.

Original article from Long Island Business News
By Caleb Harshberger

The post Chapel Hill land for 130-acre mixed-use community nets $7.25M from New York developer appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Beechwood became the area’s first residential developer to offer discounted power to a handful of its tenants and homeowners in January, when it launched a community solar pilot program.

The company contracted Farmingdale-based EmPower Solar to install solar panels on the roof of its sprawling 175,000-square-foot headquarters at 200 Robins Lane in Jericho, which allowed Beechwood to offer 10 percent savings on the electricity bills for about a dozen tenants who live at The Vanderbilt apartment complex in Westbury and some condo owners at Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank.

Since the pilot program proved successful in reducing electric bills, the developer is looking to install more solar panels at its Jericho headquarters and other roofs, such as The Vanderbilt and Beechwood’s 237-unit Selby rental complex, currently under construction on Merrick Avenue in Westbury. The expansion could provide discounted power to hundreds of Beechwood’s tenants and homeowners.

“It’s been great,” Beechwood principal Steven Dubb said about the community solar program, “which is why we’re looking to expand it.”

Community solar got its start on Long Island in 2017, when a few early programs tested the idea of distributed power generated by remote installations. But lately, the practice is beginning to gain traction, according to EmPower CEO David Schieren.

The solar panels on the roof of Beechwood’s Jericho headquarters powered the developer’s community solar pilot program. (Photo courtesy of Beechwood Organization)

“People who are historically not able to participate, whether they live in an apartment building or whether their roof is not suitable for a solar installation, can now benefit through community solar,” Schieren says. “It provides benefits to all the participants. The building owner can host a system and directly provide a benefit to tenants in the form of lower energy rates.”

And building owners can expect a significant return on investment as well. The rooftop solar installation serves as an additional tenant, and Dubb estimates that the company’s existing community solar installation will provide a 10 percent annual return on investment, but that return could grow with the addition of more subscribers.

Dubb adds that having the solar installation off-site is a good alternative for homeowners who want to join the renewable energy movement.

“They don’t have to put up the initial investment of installing a system and they don’t have to look at solar panels on their roof,” Dubb said.

The way it currently works, participating residents get an electric bill from Beechwood and, if they use additional power, they get a second bill from PSEG-Long Island. However, the state’s Public Service Commission recently approved an order to consolidate community solar payments into one single bill that would be split between the building owner and the utility.

EmPower has embarked on several community solar installations in the last year or so. The company is currently building a 2-megawatt system on the roof of the 250,000-square-foot Holbrook headquarters of Four Seasons Sunrooms. The installation will provide power for about 200 Long Island homes.

Schieren called community solar “transformative” for owners of commercial buildings.

“Previously there wasn’t a mechanism for building owners,” he said. “The majority of commercial building owners don’t use the energy themselves, instead it’s their tenants. It’s unlocking all of these roofs owned by real estate companies.”

Beechwood plans to expand its community solar installations before the end of the year.

“What I like about it, whether you care about climate change and the environment or you don’t, it’s still a good idea because you’re saving money,” Dubb said. “We have an extensive waiting list for the discounted power from Beechwood tenants and homeowners.”

Original article from Long Island Business News
By David Winzelberg

The post Beechwood plans to expand community solar power initiative appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Original article from Construction Review Online
By Barbara Mangiri

The post Transforming Rip Van Dam and The Adelphi into a five-star Resort in Saratoga Springs appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Together they want to bring a five-star quality resort to the center of downtown Saratoga Springs by renovating and expanding the Rip Van Dam building on Broadway and connecting it to the Adelphi, which Roth and former business partners rebuilt for $28 million four years ago.
“Saratoga is such a special place. This is an opportunity for Larry and I to make an imprint, to be able to restore something that fell into disrepair to its grandeur,” Dubb said in March when he and Roth first described their vision.
The developers, who also are avid thoroughbred race horse owners, have hired a team of local builders, architects and support staff. Bonacio Construction of Saratoga Springs is the general contractor. The LA Group Landscape Architecture & Engineering oversaw the layout and quarterbacked the approval process. Designs are by Dominick Ranieri Architect of Schenectady.
Renovations to Salt & Char restaurant and the exterior of the Rip Van Dam began several months ago.
The city planning board granted site plan approval for the expansion on Thursday and the design review commission approved the building’s mass and scale last week. There are a few remaining administrative approvals needed and the city must complete its architectural review.
Dubb is not overly concerned about the volatile market for building materials over the past year. Between his experience constructing more than 10,000 homes around Long Island and Bonacio Construction’s background constructing large urban infill condominium, apartment and commercial projects, Dubb said he is optimistic they will find a way to build the project as efficiently as possible.
The developers have a vision of reviving a piece of the luxury grand hotel era that made Saratoga a playground for the wealthy in the 1870s. In those days, the massive Grand Union and United States hotels were the focal point of downtown, forming an area known as Millionaire’s Row where 20 of the world’s richest people would meet each summer to talk business.
“One of the goals of the apartments is to cater to a market that might be there, that’s not there now,” Dubb said in the spring. “We want to give Saratoga the crown jewel in the center of town that it deserves.”

Original article from Albany Business Review
By DONNA ABBOTT-VLAHOS

The post Saratoga Springs approves $50 million downtown hotel and apartment project appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Guests of honor Nancy Li and Cameron Wang, the wife and son of Charles Wang, were joined by guest speakers Jon Ledecky, co-owner, New York Islanders; Laura Curran, Nassau County executive; Arnold Drucker, Nassau County legislator; and Joseph Saladino, Town of Oyster Bay supervisor.

Dubb, who proposed the street renaming, said, “Charles was one of Long Island’s great visionaries. He was an international businessman and philanthropist who loved his home on Long Island and in the Town of Oyster Bay. Best known for keeping the Islanders ice hockey team playing on Long Island, he also laid the groundwork for Long Island residents to have a beautiful place to live, work, shop and play at Country Pointe in Plainview.”

Without his patience and vision, there would be no Country Pointe in Plainview. Starting in 1999, when Charles bought the land from the Town, and before Beechwood bought it from him, he had many long days and hard battles seeding much of what you see across this 143-acre property — new homes, a new retail plaza and a new commitment to recreational open space. We want to honor Charles by having his name grace the entrance way of the finest lifestyle and mixed-use community on Long Island today.

New York Islanders co-owner John Ledecky said, “Charles was a friend and mentor. He was an inspiring, visionary thinker. He recognized the potential of Belmont Park as a new home for the New York Islanders. The fans of the Long Islanders should thank Charles for that vision and keeping the team on Long Island through thick and thin. The team’s success on the ice, Long Island and in the NHL, couldn’t have been accomplished without him. He changed my life and the lives of tens of thousands others including over a million children. What an incredible life to live. Today’s naming rights are so appropriate. We are all blessed with knowing Charles and living the legacy he provided.”

Guest speaker Nassau County executive Laura Curran stated, “Charles Wang was never afraid to dream big, and we’ll never forget his tireless efforts to ensure the Islanders stayed on Long Island. His life work left our County a better place, and Nassau is proud to recognize Charles’ many contributions to our communities with this fitting honor.”

Closing the ceremony, Town of Oyster Bay supervisor Joseph Saladino, stated, “While many people remember Mr. Wang for his success in the computer industry and ownership of the New York Islanders, we will forever remember Charles as a leading philanthropic Town of Oyster Bay resident who supported those less fortunate. From financing doctors that offer free cleft-palate surgeries for children to building an Asian-American Center at Stony Brook University and expanding a healthcare clinic in Chinatown, Charles gave back to the communities around him. When it came to business and real estate development, he dreamed big; and Charles B. Wang Boulevard stands as a testament to the vision he had for the future of Long Island with smart development such as Country Pointe in Plainview

https://reader.mediawiremobile.com/NYREJ/issues/207303/viewer?page=57

The post NYREJ & Beechwood recognizes Wang with ceremony at Country Pointe appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

He explains that he didn’t pursue culinary arts until high school, when he had an opportunity to participate in a vocational program with study options to become an electrician, a plumber, or a chef. “Cooking suited me best. It kind of found me,” he says, adding that his instructors were mostly culinary school graduates.

D’Ambrosio would go on to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie before landing a formative job at New York City venue Bouley, where he would spend nearly a decade working under the tutelage of acclaimed chef David Bouley.
“I firmly believe that to become the best, you have to work with the best,” says D’Ambrosio, adding that while at Bouley he was constantly “growing and evolving” as a chef.

“We used the finest ingredients and sourced both locally and globally. It never got boring.”
D’Ambrosio explains that his goal was to be able to “cook without a recipe,” relying solely on his palate for guidance and inspiration. “Everything at Bouley was feel and taste,” he says, adding that his philosophy was to not follow a recipe.
Still in his 30s, D’Ambrosio has packed a lot of culinary punch into his years, having discovered new cuisines in Japan, Italy and France during internships with chefs to expand his creative horizons.

While at Bouley, he did several Anthony Bourdain-style trips abroad over a few years to learn cultures and cuisines.
“The idea all along was to bring the experiences back to Bouley,” recalls D’Ambrosio. Following Bouley’s closure in 2017, he spent a couple of years at the Bedford Post Inn in Westchester, a gourmet restaurant and inn co-owned by actor Richard Gere.
“At Bedford, I sourced produce, such as radishes and tomatoes, directly from local farmers. Many of the recipes were seasonal.” He recalls getting produce from Union Square Market in Manhattan.

“That style of cooking is spontaneous, where Mother Nature determines the menu.”
After a brief stint at Manhattan’s Le Bilboquet, D’Ambrosio says he was laid off due to Covid before taking over at the new Juniper restaurant at the Vanderbilt hotel and residences in Westbury.

Juniper, which opened in late May, is the latest venue from restaurateur James Mallios and the Civetta Hospitality Group. Civetta also operates Amali in Manhattan, Calissa in the Hamptons and Bar Marseille in the Rockaways.
At Juniper, D’Ambrosio says he wants to help build a “destination that’s different.”
He says he plans to continue sourcing from local farms, including everything from fresh herbs and fruits such as strawberries to vegetables including peas and cucumbers.

“Sustainability governs everything we do at Civetta, including the meat, fish and produce we purchase, the wines we pour, and our labor practices,” says Civetta partner Kylie Monagan. “We choose to focus on long-term business goals because we believe they benefit our local community and the larger ecosystem, supporting family farms, fisheries, and winemakers and providing job stability for our team.”
D’Ambrosio aims to integrate sustainability into “food he likes to eat,” and that, he says, is how he writes his menus.
For example, one of his favorite dishes is the birria-style short ribs, influenced by Mexican birria herbs and stewed for hours, “like a deconstructed taco.”

He adds that he’s procuring seafood directly from Montauk fishermen, such as blue crude marinated in tomato and cilantro.
Monagan adds that the menu offers classic comforts including Cascun Farm Market fried chicken, six-cheese mac, and wild mushroom flatbread. Other specialties include hay-roasted oysters, Long Island Crescent Duck breast with Juniper honey, and Caraflex cabbage steak for vegans.
A well-stocked bar features gin-inspired cocktails and classic wines including Sancerre, Chablis, and Napa chardonnay.
D’Ambrosio, who has been cooking for more than 15 years, says his future will revolve around food, but he’s not sure he wants to own a restaurant since knows how much work and money go into successful ventures.

He says, “You have to find a balance in life between making money and enjoying what you’re doing. That’s the secret.”
Juniper at the Vanderbilt hotel and residences is located at 990 Corporate Dr. in Westbury. It can be reached at 516-820-1200 or juniperlongisland.com.

For more food and drink coverage, visit longislandpress.com/category/food-drink.
Sign up for Long Island Press’ email newsletters here. Sign up for home delivery of Long Island Press here. Sign up for discounts by becoming a Long Island Press community partner here.

The post The Vanderbilt Debuts New Restaurant, Juniper, with Seasoned Italian Chef Chris D’Ambrosio appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

“These guys are the best,” said Tunney, who also owns Besito Mexican restaurants and Ballo Italian. “It makes it a fun deal to do.”

Between the 4,000-square-foot interior space and outdoor area, the restaurant will hold approximately 85 seats.

Prominent décor like Huntington’s signature rabbit wallpaper by artist Hunt Slonem is expected to adorn the walls of the space.

Artwork from Peter Diem of Holland, who is known for painting flying cows, and Tunney’s brother, Peter Tunney and his positive, American-themed pieces, will be featured in the new Shed spot, too.

Tunney says the fun energy on the inside continues outdoors as well, with plans of a put and green area in the backyard of the building.

Customers can enjoy the tranquility of the water behind them, Tunney said, and a fire pit is going back there too for people to circle around while drinking cocktails.

The menu remains consistent to the other Sheds on the island and just like the other properties, The Shed Plainville maintains the feel of being “off the industrial path.”

“I like details, those are what end up exceeding people’s expectations,” Tunney said. “You have to think in a way that’s anticipatory vision: get them what they want and what they need before they ask, and provide an environment that lets you relax and feel good.”

The post Huntington’s Popular Brunch Spot ‘The Shed’ Expanding to Plainview appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Earlier this month, The Beechwood Organization out of Long Island began talks with the Town of Chapel Hill for a project called South Creek. The development calls for hundreds of new units geared toward senior living and workforce housing, plus retail and plenty of open space.

The project is situated on around 128 acres across from Southern Village off of Highway 501 south of downtown Chapel Hill. Beechwood presented its initial plans for the project to the Town Council’s Committee on Economic Sustainability earlier this month.

The company recently launched its presence in North Carolina with an office in Charlotte. Beechwood brought on 35-year North Carolina real estate veteran Robert Kardos as regional president of the Carolinas.

“Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with many homebuyers across the Carolinas, and I look forward to introducing Beechwood’s unique housing product to my community,” Kardos said in a statement. “These two rezoning proposals aim to enhance the quality of life for both existing residents and those looking to relocate, and I am excited to get started.”

As currently envisioned, Beechwood plans around 350 units, largely for residents 55 and older as well as workforce housing. Plans also call for retail space and around 85 acres for a nature preserve complete with walking trails and other natural amenities. The units would include a mix of townhomes, condos and duplexes

Plans are subject to change during the design and approval process.

Before submitting any rezoning requests, Kardos said, the company plans to work extensively with the town and community stakeholders to bring a proposal that best aligns with the communities vision for the area.

“It is our first in the Triangle. That’s why we are reaching out to the community to navigate those waters,” Kardos said. “We don’t want to come in with a preconceived notion of what the product mix or design should be. We want to get feedback from the local leaders and groups.”

He said the company would like to file a rezoning request for the property this fall, but that will depend on how comfortable they are that the plan lines up with the community’s vision.

Beechwood currently plans for all the units to be for-sale and is targeting the “missing middle” price range, with around half of the units starting below $500,000, Kardos said.

Pricing estimates have been difficult for builders during the past year as construction costs continue to skyrocket and fierce competition for homes has seen buyers going well above asking price.

The Chapel Hill project is one of two Beechwood has in the works in North Carolina, with the other, called Ferncliff, proposed in Charlotte earlier this year.

The company is partnering with architects 505Design on both projects.

Beechwood’s entry into North Carolina comes as demand for housing across the state continues to climb.

“Our homebuyers may be buying their first family home or moving up to a luxury estate, empty nesters looking to ‘rightsize’ or urban dwellers who value easy access to transportation and services,” said Steven Dubb, principal, The Beechwood Organization.

“The Carolinas provides these buyers with the seasonal temperatures and a location not too far from home, while our range of housing types provides the lifestyle and function needed to enjoy everyday life.”

The post New York Developer, The Beechwood Organization, Eyes Chapel Hill for 128-Acre Mixed-Use Community appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

“Juniper actually grows on the property,” he said, referring to The Vanderbilt, a high-end Westbury apartment complex that until last March played host to Tom Schaudel’s Kingfish, one of the pandemic’s early restaurant casualties. Mallios and his team eventually took over the space, and their New American eatery, Juniper, opened May 20.

“It’s also native Long Island flora,” he continued, perfect for a restaurant whose menu draws inspiration, along with much of its produce and meats, from local purveyors. And juniper berries are, of course, a key ingredient in gin, on which Juniper’s cocktail program is based. Building a bar around the spirit can be a challenge on an island where vodka and tequila are king, but general manager John Nicoletti likes his chances.

“I always tell people, if you like whiskey, you like gin. You just don’t know it yet,” he said. Accordingly, Juniper plans to feature up to 8 gin cocktails at a time — a house barrel-aged negroni among them — using gins from Long Island Spirits (Deepwells) and Montauk Distilling (71st Regiment).

The post The Vanderbilt Opens Juniper in Westbury appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Since breaking ground one year ago, four designer-decorated houses opened for viewing on May 15. The first occupancy at The Latch is set for June and nearly half the homes have sold off floor plan pre-construction. Additionally, two historic Stanford White designed structures — The Latch and Terry Cottage — have restored exteriors and renovated interiors, and new Fleetwood McMullen designed homes are taking shape.

Remaining homes for sale include the Terry Cottage, a 6-bedroom, 6.5 bath single-family home, the largest home at The Latch, with 7,385 square feet of living space, private garage and pool on just shy of an acre for $7 million. Ten of 15 brand new luxury town houses designed to live like single-family homes on three floors with 3+-bedrooms, 3.5 baths, lower level, and garage across 2,763 to 3,168 square feet of living space start at $3.45 million. One of four villa residences, on the market for $2.6 million, with 1,991 square feet living space, is also available.

Among the amenities are a private clubhouse with high-end fitness center and outdoor pool, landscaping of tree-lined grounds, snow removal and refuse collection all managed by The Latch’s condominium association. The central location of The Latch is also one of the best in the Village of Southampton. It is a five-minute walk to shops, restaurants, movie theatre, and Lake Agawam Park or a five-minute drive to Cooper’s Beach.

The post An Update on The Latch Southampton Village appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The two current residential development proposals from Beechwood include South Creek in Chapel Hill and Ferncliff in the Cotswold area of Charlotte.

“Our homebuyers may be buying their first family home or moving up to a luxury estate, empty-nesters looking to ‘rightsize’ or urban dwellers who value easy access to transportation and services,” Principal Steven Dubb said. “The Carolinas provides these buyers with the seasonal temperatures and a location not too far from home, while our range of housing types provides the lifestyle and function needed to enjoy everyday life.”

With Ferncliff in Charlotte, Beechwood submitted a proposal to repurpose the property from an existing single-family home to build five luxury townhomes.

Residential real estate veteran Robert Kardos will lead the firm’s entry into the Carolinas.

The post Beechwood Submits Residential Development Proposals in Charlotte and Chapel Hill appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Nine units have already sold since preconstruction sales began last June, and now that construction is nearly complete, four designer-decorated model townhouses will be open for showings by appointment beginning Saturday, May 15, and the first occupants may move in starting in June.

The project by the Beechwood Organization, a Jericho-based development firm, is a mix of renovated historic buildings and brand new construction. The main Latch building and the Terry Cottage, both turn-of-the-20th-century structures by architect Stanford White of the renowned firm McKim, Mead & White, have been restored under the direction of Southampton architect Jason Poremba of Jason Thomas Architect. James McMullan of Fleetwood & McMullan Architects, an East Hampton firm, designed the new townhouses and villas and the community’s clubhouse.

Mr. Poremba explained during an interview on Friday that the Latch and the Terry Cottage had been changed significantly since they were built, and his challenge was to bring the exteriors back in line with how they appeared originally.

The post Townhouse Showings to Begin at ‘The Latch’ Southampton Village appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

190 Beach 69th Street (Rockaway Beach Boulevard), Arverne, Queens; 718-513-2474; barmarseille.com.

Editors’ Picks

The post 190 Beach 69th Street Restaurant, Bar Marseille, Featured on New York Times appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Steven Dubb: “The Latch Southampton Village. In 2016, we bought the historic Village Latch Inn. From 2017-2019, during the application process to convert the 67-unit lodging on 5-acres to a 20-home luxury condo community, we operated it as The Latch Pop-Up Inn. In 2020, after consultation with 15 agencies, neighbors and Village Board of Architectural Review & Historic Preservation, approval was granted. It included our commitment to restore exteriors of two early 20th century structures designed by Stanford White. Then came COVID. Last June, we finally broke ground and started pre-construction sales. By 2021, half the homes sold off floor plans. Four designer-decorated models open in April. First occupancy is this summer. Five years on, I’m so proud to have brought together the best of Hamptons old world charm and new construction. The Latch is just beautiful.”

The post Steven Dubb Discusses Pride in Recent Accomplishment appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Michael Dubb, founder of Beechwood Homes, said he is partnering with The Adelphi Hotel owner Larry Roth in the proposal to restore and expand the neglected and dilapidated 1840 Rip Van Dam Hotel into a 30-room spacious inn with concierge service, a gym and spa — all of which will be linked to The Adelphi next door on Broadway.

“It’s in the heart of town,” Dubb said. “We are preserving and restoring the original façade and restoring the interior that is in disrepair. It really will be nice to bring back the Rip Van Dam building and the area of Broadway to its original grandeur.”

The Rip Van Dam will open with 15 rooms, larger than those in the 32-room Adelphi, by November. The old Italianate-style hotel, by then incorporated in to The Adelphi, will expand in the project’s second phase — an addition in the rear that will include the remainder of the rooms and and a complex of 90 luxury apartments with onsite parking for 100. Apartment dwellers, he said, will be able to share in the hotel amenities including an expanded ballroom and conservatory in The Adelphi — and the distinctive menus at their restaurants Salt & Char and Morrissey’s Lounge & Bistro.

Dubb and Roth also promised the Rip Van Dam will reflect the interior design and décor of The Adelphi – making for a seamless experience for guests. The Adelphi was fully renovated about four years ago.

“It will be beautiful,” Dubb said.

In recent years, plans to restore the Rip Van Dam have failed. The opulent hotel that once stood alongside other elegant 19th century resorts like the United States and the Grand Union hotels was purchased by Bruce Levinsky in the 1990s. He had an $11 million plan to renovate it into an upscale Ramada Plaza Suite.

When that didn’t happen, brothers James and Thomas D’Iorio, took over the site with a $45 million renovation plan for the brick building. But in their hands, the property fell into foreclosure. That was 2019 and that’s when Roth stepped in to buy it.

Roth said he always wanted to buy the Rip Van Dam, because he thought he might want to add more rooms. He was also fearful that another hotel would move in.

“We are a boutique, exclusive, luxurious hotel,” Roth said of The Adelphi. “My fear was it wouldn’t be the same quality or same type hotel. When the property became available through foreclosure, I decided to buy it. I probably overpaid for it. But when you want something badly and you have a vision of what you could do, you sometimes have to pay a little more than you want.”

He said he then brought in Dubb because he’s a close friend and because of his work, building premier homes on Long Island.

“I asked him to develop the property with me,” Roth said. “He looked at it and had the same vision I did. It’s the best piece of property in Saratoga and we should develop it.”

But when asked if a luxury hotel could survive a shaky, post-pandemic economy, Roth said it could and The Adelphi is proof. Though 2020 was tough, he said The Adelphi now has a 90 percent occupancy rate. He said the restaurant, Morrissey’s, is also doing well. Because of that, he is expanding Morrissey’s into the space once occupied by the hotel’s other, now shuttered, Blue Hen restaurant.

Salt & Char, the Rip Van Dam’s restaurant, is also getting an upgrade. It is currently closed and will be reopened in June.

Dubb said restorations, which have already begun, won’t interrupt Adelphi guests as the work done by Bonacio Construction will be on the exterior and interior of the Rip Van Dam.

The expanded hotel and apartments, however, still need city approvals. If approved, Roth said the adjoining building is estimated to be open in the spring of 2023.

“It’s going to be spectacular,” Roth said. “It will be a great destination for the northeast — three hours from Boston, three hours from Montreal, three hours from New York City and probably the same from Buffalo. We are very, very excited about the project.”

The post $50M Restoration Project to Link Two Luxury Hotels in Saratoga Springs appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Under Nassau’s first countywide reassessment in a decade, homeowners can phase-in valuation changes — up or down — over five years.

But the exemption did not apply to new homes, or those with major renovations, because the properties essentially were being assessed for the first time.

Those homeowners effectively had to pay their full assessed valuations right away, while most properties were allowed to catch up to their new values over a five-year period.

Many owners of newly constructed homes, or those with extensive renovations, complained of exorbitant tax bills .

They said they were shouldering a disproportionate share of the property tax burden because so many other properties received the phase-in exemption.

“This bill protects taxpayers and encourages both new construction and job growth during this much-needed coronavirus pandemic recovery period,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a statement.

The post Owners of New or Extensively Renovated Homes in Nassau County Get Tax Relief in State Budget appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

As the legendary Stanford White’s storied life recedes further into American myth, his architectural design remains relevant for houses on Long Island’s East End, and a draw to buyers, from stately village homes in Southampton to the Montauk Association Historic District Houses. Known for his shingled mansions designed at McKim, Mead & White for industrialists and moguls of a bygone era, his allure mixes turn-of-the-20th-century romance and urban flair with practicality. The Latch Southampton Village, a condo community in development by Beechwood Homes, features two houses said to be of his provenance. Key to the property’s ambiance, a gateway to its central drive, is the iconic main Latch building and adjacent Terry Cottage, the jewel in Latch’s studded crown. The historic structures evoke the Federal Revival period, clad in cedar shingles, then painted white, with Dutch Colonial touches and Southampton’s distinct vibe.

In 2016, Beechwood Homes acquired the property, the site of the former annex to the famed Irving hotel with its own storied past featuring a who’s who of rock, film, and political stars. The buildings’ bones were dilapidated, pointed out Steven Dubb, principal of the Beechwood Organization, a company founded by his father, Michael Dubb. Sparing no expense, Beechwood hired James McMullan of Fleetwood & McMullan and Jason Poremba of Jason Thomas Architect for the restoration. The team created interior and exterior floor plans, retaining footprints and restoring façades to their original grandeur, maintaining the Southampton look and vibe. They divided one structure, the main Latch building, into a pair of townhomes; altogether the community is comprised of one single-family home, and 19 luxury villas and townhomes, a clubhouse and pool. On a recent tour of the property during construction, Dubb maintained that his customers did not want homes that are cookie-cutter copies while showing customized built-ins, balustrades, marble bathrooms, dramatic staircases and white-oak floors. One home has a cathedral ceiling and balcony. Buyers choose elevators or not, and fireplaces, wood-burning or gas; some of the homes are equipped with outdoor fireplaces.

Only Terry Cottage remains a single family, six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath home, its look and detail descended from White’s Samuel Longstreth Parrish House from 1889. Boasting a 7,385-square-foot living area, that’s some cottage! An artist’s rendering shows the finished home with five windows facing Hill Street, and three dormers perched on the roof’s slope—unmistakable Stanford White.

The Latch follows the trend to preserve what is special about the Hamptons, joining a wave of development that includes Sag Harbor’s Bulova Watchcase Factory, conveniently a stone’s throw from town to beach. “We’re excited for the future, bringing forward the best of the past, and creating the highest-quality new condominium homes to be found in the Hamptons today,” said Dubb, who had also led the work on nearby Bishops Pond. You could see his pride; as in White’s efforts, each dwelling is a labor of love. “This is my baby,” he said. “It’s a good baby to have.” He expects the first occupancy for the summer season. beechwoodhomes.com/latch

Regina Weinreich, a frequent contributor to Purist, is the author of Kerouac’s Spontaneous Poetics and co-producer/director of Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider.

The post The Latch Southampton Village Reenvisions and Remasters Classic Hamptons Architecture appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Beechwood Homes founder Michael Dubb is partnering with Larry Roth, former owner of one of the world’s largest eye care companies, on a plan to construct 90 apartments and 65 or more hotel rooms, creating a complex unlike anything else in the city.

They want to reimagine the northwest corner of Broadway and Washington Street by renovating the former Rip Van Dam Hotel, connecting the property to Roth’s Adelphi Hotel and constructing an adjoining five-story, 150,000-square-foot addition.

The proposed $50 million project seeks to revive a piece of the luxury grand hotel era that made Saratoga a playground for the wealthy in the 1870s. In those days, the massive Grand Union and United States hotels were the focal point of downtown, forming an area known as Millionaire’s Row where 20 of the world’s richest people would meet each summer to talk business.

“One of the goals of the apartments is to cater to a market that might be there, that’s not there now,” said Dubb. “We want to give Saratoga the crown jewel in the center of town that it deserves.”

The post Two Developers Team Up to Transform One of the Most Prominent Corners in Downtown Saratoga Springs appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) today announced that its new childcare center serving families and children of the backstretch community at Saratoga Race Course is scheduled to open in summer 2021.

The 4,300-square-foot childcare center will be located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga backstretch. Funded by Michael and Lee Dubb, the facility will be named Faith’s House in honor of Faith Dubb, mother of BCCA founder and board chairman Michael Dubb.

Faith’s House will provide child care and early education programs for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. The center will be open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of backstretch workers and horsemen.

“All working parents deserve to know that their children are being cared for in a safe, healthy and enriching environment during the workday,” said Dubb, who is a prominent thoroughbred owner in addition to his work with the BCCA. “We are thrilled to extend this important program to the hardworking families of the Saratoga backstretch community, who provide a vital service to the racing community.”

The Saratoga facility will complement BCCA’s sister childcare center Anna House, which serves families of the Belmont Park backstretch. More than 1,000 students have participated in Anna House’s programs since its opening in 2003.

“Faith’s House fulfills a dream that the BCCA has been working on for over ten years. We are so excited to bring a winning formula in child care to Saratoga,” said Libby Imperio, BCCA President.

The anticipated summer 2021 opening coincides with the annual summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which brings approximately 950 backstretch workers and their families to the Spa. The opening of the new center is contingent upon licensing approval from New York State and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

“The backstretch community is the foundation of the racing industry,” said New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) President and CEO Dave O’Rourke. “All of us at NYRA extend our sincere gratitude to Michael and Lee, and the entire BCCA staff for their continued dedication and commitment to increasing access to affordable and reliable childcare for families on the backstretch. I would also like to thank our facilities team for their work on this project. NYRA is proud to host this new center of childhood education.”

Faith’s House will be operated by Bright Horizons, an organization known for excellence in the child care industry which manages early childhood education programs at more than 1,000 child care centers.

More information about Faith’s House, including details on registration and enrollment, will be announced in the coming months. Individuals interested in further details may contact BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams by phone at (516) 488-2103 or via email at jadams@belmontchildcare.org.

The Belmont Child Care Association works to provide a safe, supportive, and academically inspiring environment for the children of parents working in the thoroughbred racing backstretch area located at New York’s historic Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. For more information, visit BelmontChildCare.org.

[Distributed by NYRA on behalf of the Belmont Child Care Association]

The post Faith’s House: New Childcare and Early Childhood Education Programs for Children of Backstretch Families appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

So, they decided on a $629,000 condo at the Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens in East Meadow.

“It’s a whole different generation,” said Chen, 31, a corporate executive, who with her husband, Tim, a wedding photographer, look forward to the no-hassle lifestyle.

“We work hard, and on the weekdays, our brains are fried. At the end of the day, we don’t want to worry about the plumbing… We don’t want to be in Home Depot.”

Another plus for the Chens is the sleek and modern look of the condos. “We want those white cabinets, the minimal look,” she said. “Everything is brand-new. That’s the vibe we want, without the problems of a house.”

The design and function of condominiums have changed dramatically. No longer just glorified apartments, many have the same number of rooms and square footage of a home, and often have more land — although common space — with walking trails and preserves.

The newest generation of condos and townhouses are more modern and minimalistic, a different aesthetic from the Center Hall Colonials and split levels that dot Long Island. These condos are light and airy, with high ceilings, lots of windows, and many high-end options. Some have fireplaces, while others feature full basements and attics.

The post Long Island’s New Condos are Bigger, Cozier, and Pricier appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

What is the historic significance of The Latch Southampton Village?

Starting in the early 1900s, the property formerly known as The Village Latch was the Grand Annex to Southampton’s Irving Hotel across Hill Street. Reported guests included Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, the duPonts, Fords and Vanderbilts, and Hollywood stars.

In 2016, when we bought the 5+ acre property, though its ambience was reminiscent of Gatsby-esque times, it was showing its age. The inn was operating with 67 rooms across a number of run-down buildings.

Two of the structures, the Terry Cottage–belonging to the Irving Hotel owner, Terry Irving, and moved from across the street–and main Latch building, are thought to be designed by Stanford White of the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White.

How has the development paid homage to the original design by Stanford White?

We’re restoring the facades of the two Stanford White-designed buildings to their original grandeur with the new homes behind in keeping with their design. We’re also completely renovating the interiors of these historic buildings, which comprise three of the 20 new luxury homes. The 40-room main Latch structure will become two townhomes. The fully renovated Terry Cottage will remain a single-family home. To guide us, we’re working with local architects James McMullan of Fleetwood & McMullan and Jason Poremba of Jason Thomas Architect. Jim McMullan also designed the homes sited behind the Cottage and Latch buildings, including four villa residences, 13 townhomes and a clubhouse with high-end fitness center and outdoor pool.

Exteriors of the new homes are in keeping with the architectural vernacular of Southampton Village and complement the historic buildings. A single facade will appear to connect the homes and feature shingle-style touches. The view of the property from Hill Street, its great front lawn, will also remain.

What luxuries and amenities await at The Latch?

Of note, owners at The Latch will enjoy maintenance-free, care-free living all year round for all the benefits of home ownership and Hamptons living, without the chore of property upkeep. This includes landscape curation and care of the tree-lined grounds, refuse collection and snow removal.

The post History Meets Modern Living at The Latch in Southampton appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Tell us about the development of Country Pointe Meadows and how you approached designing this community.
We have a lot of experience on Long Island designing active adult–or 55-plus–lifestyle communities and are known for it. We’ve developed over 60 communities since my father, Michael Dubb, established Beechwood in 1985.

Though we are now seeing increased interest from New Yorkers wanting to move east, most of our buyers are Long Islanders. They are “rightsizing” from their big family, house but want to remain on the island near friends and family. They are typically empty nesters, couples or singles, who want a new home at great value with low real estate taxes. They also want care-free living, no more shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, leaky roofs or basements. They want brand new homes with airy open floor plans, not too far from friends and family and close to highways, shopping, beaches and recreation. That was what was so attractive about this location.

At Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank, we’re building 400 new condominium homes. This is the for-sale component of The Boulevard, a master plan village, located on the former site of Yaphank’s Parr Meadows Racetrack. It’s adjacent to greenbelt trails and dedicated open space in Suffolk County’s Town of Brookhaven, just off the Long Island Expressway at exit 68N and the William Floyd Parkway. The development is hailed for its traditional neighborhood design and smart growth principles. Residents can walk, bike or drive to nearby offices, shops, restaurants, hospitality, public parks and open space across the entire 322 acres.

The grounds our homes are built on are spacious and sprawling, beautifully landscaped and include a gazebo, ponds and dog parks. The 11,000-square-foot clubhouse is a centerpiece where homeowners can socialize but also exercise.

There are townhomes and villas. What was the thinking behind making these distinct styles?
We have villas–spacious apartment style homes for single floor living–on the ground floor or second floor. We also have townhomes with living space spanning two or three levels.

Homes range from 1,470 to over 2,100 square feet of living space with two bedrooms and two or two-and-a-half baths, a loft, a den, a full-basement with the option for it to be finished, and one- or two-car garages. Buyers also get to personalize their homes working with our Design Center to choose their own designer fittings and finishes for the kitchen and bathrooms.

What makes Country Pointe Meadows special and unique in the real estate market?

For those who work, play or want to visit friends or family in the Hamptons, North Fork or parts west, they may not realize how close Yaphank really is. Exit 68 off the LIE is under 20 minutes east to Riverhead and 25 minutes west to Route 110. So it’s about location for sure but also the cost of living, in a quality constructed home with great quality of life.

Community living is more affordable than one may realize at first. Many are surprised to learn the move to a 55-plus community will actually save them money. If you make a line-by-line cost comparison of monthly carrying costs, between owning one’s existing family home and a new home in one of our communities, there are savings to be made on landscaping, pool maintenance, snow and refuse removal, homeowner insurance, security systems and gym/club memberships. Taxes are also comparatively less in community life. So our owners spend less and worry less with great quality of life. I like to refer to Country Pointe Meadows as a hidden gem.

Prices start in the upper-$400,000s for single-level living villas and the low $500,000s for townhomes with ground-floor master suites. Taxes start at around $3,700 for homeowners who qualify for the NY STAR program.

Talk about the importance of the Clubhouse and its features and amenities.

At the center of the community is a state-of-the-art 11,000-square-foot community clubhouse with a ballroom, card rooms, sports lounge with bar, fitness room, treatment room, concierge, activities director, two outdoor heated swimming pools plus tennis and bocce ball courts. Right now we’re all socially distancing so we’ve moved many of the features outside from exercise equipment to seating areas. When we can get back, residents will be meeting their neighbors at the bar for cocktails, playing cards, watching a football game or taking an exercise class.

Why is Country Pointe Meadows a great fit for someone 55 and up?

Our homeowners enjoy making new friends and keeping busy. Their new carefree lifestyle is almost like being on vacation, free of the burden of home maintenance. They also enjoy living in brand new homes at this stage in their lives.

The post Steven Dubb Discusses High-End Community Living at Country Pointe Meadows appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Prices for units in both complexes start at around $619,000.

Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens, on the site of the former Oberle’s Florist and Greenhouses, is now available as pre-construction sales at 845 East Meadow Ave. The 48-home community is made up of 2-bedroom, 2-bath villas. The lower floor is 1,200 square feet with a full-sized basement and patio. The upper floor units are 1,600 to 1,700 square feet with a loft area and foyer entrance. The loft or basement give extra space for flexibility, says Beechwood Homes CEO Michael Dubb. Condo fees are about $357 a month. Speno Park is right next door, and within walking distance. Already one-third of the homes in Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens are sold via floor plans.

“You’ll have empty nesters and some starting out,” says Dubb of the buyers for those homes. “There’s pent-up demand, so people are willing to buy early… By buying early, they are getting a good deal and saving money.”

Meadowbrook Pointe East Meadow, a “Golden Age” community for those 62 years of age and older, will be an “active lifestyle community” with amenities such as a clubhouse, heated pool, fitness center, and a bar/lounge. The 104-home plan has both single level and multi-level villa-style homes of 2 bedrooms, 2 baths ranging from 960 square feet to 1,394 square feet. The monthly condo fees for this community, at 123 Merrick Ave., will be about $390.

The post 2 New Condo Complexes Developing in East Meadow appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

“I think COVID has played into the current boom in the luxury home market because somebody who might normally just rent their second home now wants to own their second home because they want to be able to use it any time they want,” said Michael Dubb, CEO of Beechwood Homes

Builders like Dubb, who is currently building the Oak Ridge homes in Saratoga Springs, and John Witt, another high-end builder based out of Saratoga Springs, have seen an increase in demand, especially from those coming from New York City who are spending longer weekends working from their second homes in Saratoga or Lake George.

High ceilings, open floor plans, large outdoor living spaces, home offices and the still-popular free-standing bathtub are all trends that new owners are craving in their homes amid a pandemic.

The idea of a what exactly is a “luxury home” has expanded ever since the internet came along.

Sites like Houzz, Pinterest, and Instagram fling new ideas about what a luxury home can include to all sorts of users, Witt said. And the price point is hard to pin down when defining how much a “luxury” home costs. Witt says size doesn’t matter as much as it used to. He is currently working on a smaller–about 2,500 square feet–home in the $1.3-$1.5 million range that he said is very luxurious.

The biggest change over time has been an open space floor plan where rooms on the lower level are flowing from one into the other, with fewer walls and higher ceilings.

“The house feels bigger and more spacious when it is not chopped up by walls and corridors on the lower level,” Dubb said. “Twenty years ago we had the formal living room, which in many houses was a museum because people looked at it instead of using it.”

Interior designer Lee Owens, who said she has only become busier since the pandemic began, thinks the open floor plan is not necessarily as big as a draw as it has been in the recent past.

“I think people are starting to go back to wanting to have a formal dining room that’s separate from the kitchen, not everybody, but I’ve had homeowners who are interested in that,” Owens said. “I know for me personally, I’d rather not look at my dishes while hosting a nice dinner party.”

Outdoor living is certainly popular as families want to be entertaining outdoors socially distant from each other. This means outdoor kitchens, verandas, firepits, pools, and large seating areas with heaters in the ceilings.

“I think the new luxury is really about how the homes relate to the exterior,” Witt said. “It is super healthy to hang outside.”

Upholstered furniture and a TV under a covered porch are two features Owens said many outdoor living rooms will have.

Whereas before home offices might have been just an afterthought, people are now creating dedicated work spaces since they spend so much of their day at home, Owens said.

“It’s all about the organization in 2020,” Owens said. She points to well designed file cabinets, a flat-screen TV that can make a room feel like a conference room, and custom millwork where a printer is built into the wall with intricate detailing surrounding it, as features that bring a home office to life.

Bowling alleys, theaters, spas, and home exercise rooms are all additional spaces prospective luxury homeowners have always desired that they now want even more, especially during this pandemic, Witt said.

Interior designers and builders alike believe these trends are not going anywhere soon. “These are trends that are going to continue past COVID,” Witt said.

The post Home Sales Rise Despite Economic Turndown appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

In late March, Elizabeth Manko was in the midst of renovating her two-bedroom condo across from Lincoln Center when the pandemic shuttered Manhattan. “My apartment was literally pulled apart,” she recalled, and the sublease she was living in was coming to end April 1.

Like many Manhattanites, Ms. Manko headed to the Hamptons, where she had been renting for a month each summer or staying with friends for 25 years.

“Whatever you have, I’m in, I’ll take it,” she told Maryanne Horwath, an associate broker with Douglas Elliman. In late March, for $8,000 a month, Ms. Manko rented a three-bedroom townhouse in the gated Whitefield Association, a Stanford White-designed estate turned 16-acre condominium in Southampton village with two tennis courts, a pool and gardens.

She agreed to allow prospective buyers to tour the unit, which had been lingering on the market at $1.395 million. Ms. Manko, a fund-raiser for nonprofits, played tennis with the owner and delighted in the sunset views, deer and chirping birds. “The beautiful old Gold Coast setting reminded me of Sands Point, where I grew up,” she said.

When a potential buyer made an offer, the owner asked if Ms. Manko might also be interested. A bidding war ensued, and she ultimately bought the townhouse for 10 percent over the asking price. “I did not expect to come out and do this,” she said.

She’s not alone among renters looking to buy what was meant to be a temporary home. Some have submitted offers “even if the property is not on the market,” said Todd Bourgard, senior executive regional manager of sales for Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

According to a Douglas Elliman August report, new signed contracts for single-family homes in the Hamptons more than doubled from a year ago, along with a significant increase in new signed contracts for condominiums, continuing a trend that began shortly after the pandemic hit. Behind the surge is “pent-up demand,” said Jonathan J. Miller, president and chief executive of Miller Samuel, the real estate appraiser and consultant who prepared the report. When the “outbound migration from Manhattan” began with a frenzy in March and April, some Hamptons houses rented 20 to 50 percent above the asking price.

“It was clear there wasn’t enough product,” Mr. Miller said. “These consumers began buying homes and it has not stopped.”

It was partly practical. “The rent started to equal what it would cost you to buy a house with the new rates,” said Enzo Morabito, an associate broker with Douglas Elliman, referring to historically low mortgage rates.

The trend marks “a repositioning of the Hamptons from a second-home market to a co-primary or longer-term market than it had been in the past,” Mr. Miller said.

Matt Breitenbach, an associate broker at Compass Real Estate, called it a “seismic shift.”

“Friends who lived in the city used to say, ‘I wish I could live out here full time,’” Mr. Breitenbach said. “After Covid, it is acceptable and in fact preferred” among those working remotely. “Those who lived in the city mainly came out on weekends; now they are out here mainly and maybe go back to the city for a weekend.”

In the last month, Mr. Breitenbach’s team put $40 million worth of homes into contract, most in the $3 million to $6 million range.

About 50 percent of Elliman’s Hamptons deals are over the asking price, with the most multiple offers on $1 million to $2 million homes, and many in the $2 million to $4 million range.

Early in September, Mr. Morabito listed a five-bedroom house with indoor and outdoor pools for $1.275 million in East Quogue, and immediately received a full-price offer, then another. “‘Let’s orchestrate a bidding war,’” Mr. Morabito recalled telling his team. With multiple buyers submitting written offers, the sale price could ultimately rise by $150,000 to $200,000. “My job is to get people the most money,” Mr. Morabito said. A recent open house drew more than 30 groups and helped generate four offers, including two over the asking price.

Buyers are also snapping up new construction “well before it is completed so they can put on their own finishing touches,” Mr. Bourgard said.

Sales at The Latch Southampton Village, where 20 condominium townhomes are under construction, weren’t slated to begin until January, when furnished models would be complete. But by Memorial Day weekend, Steven Dubb, a principal at Beechwood Homes, the developer, started selling the three-bedroom townhomes — priced in the mid-$3 million to $4 million range — off floor plans. He put eight units into contract by late August. “There is going to be demand for condos one block away from the village no matter what,” Mr. Dubb said. “Covid poured gasoline on it.”

Buying a house sight unseen isn’t so unheard-of anymore.

Erin Ferris Smith, 37, and Jason Smith, 42, of Houston, usually visit the Hamptons yearly. “It’s the place we spend time with our family in the summer,” said Ms. Ferris Smith, who grew up in northern New Jersey. When the pandemic kept Ms. Ferris’s mother, Kathy Ferris, from visiting the couple’s 1-year-old triplets, the Smiths became determined to buy a Hamptons home, where, after quarantining, they could gather with loved ones.

Using FaceTime, virtual tours and photographs, they chose a four-bedroom saltbox with a pool on 1.4 acres north of the highway in Southampton, for $1.6 million. They’re scheduled to close on Friday.

“It was the right time for our family to have a place there to be together, especially after all of this,” Ms. Ferris Smith said. “We are recapturing the lost time with our family.”

The post Residential Sales Continue to Surge in the Hamptons appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Named in the 1700s for pastures east of a waterway that were deemed ideal for grazing cattle and sheep, East Meadow today stretches between two highways, the Meadowbrook and Wantagh State parkways. The community is home to some 12,800 families, both young and aging, with at least three age-restricted developments (and two more under construction), several popular parks, and nine schools.

The Beechwood Organization is developing two new communities of villa residences in East Meadow, one with 48 units and the other with 104 units, with first occupancy for both developments anticipated for summer 2021.

According to 2019 data, East Meadow had a 93.7% high school graduation rate, a 78.1% graduation rate for students with disabilities and a 92.3% graduation rate for economically disadvantaged students, with 68.3% students earning advanced Regents diplomas and 24% earning Regents diplomas.

To boost local retail businesses, the chamber is planning a “reopening” car parade in August with business owners’ cars festooned with banners advertising their wares. A drive-in movie and business “villages” are planned after the parade, according to Skinner who calls East Meadow a “red, white and blue” community of hardworking people.

Home styles in the area include Capes, ranches, Colonials and split-levels, says Nancy Jarvis of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. “Homebuyers like the schools, the proximity to parkways and the convenience of shopping,” she said. “And the taxes are reasonable.”

The post East Meadow Offers Quality Food, Fun, and High-Achieving Schools appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

As the Runhappy Travers Stakes contenders get ready to race for glory this weekend, prominent horse owner Michael Dubb and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) is “Racing for the Children”. Their week-long virtual party kicked off Monday at noon, and will run through Sunday, Aug. 9, with all the proceeds going toward their mission of helping backstretch workers and their children.

News10 ABC Sports Director Liana Bonavita spoke with Dubb about the new Saratoga Child Care Center that will open its doors next summer.

The post Michael Dubb Leads Charge in Child Care for Backstretch Workers appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

For the first time in his career, Dubb is starting to build homes in Saratoga Springs, less than three miles from Saratoga Race Course, the thoroughbred race track he has been visiting since he was 17 years old.

Dubb and Beechwood last week outlined details of the 53 homes they are building at the Oak Ridge development between the track and Saratoga Lake. Homes will range in size between 2,200 square feet and more than 6,000 square feet. They will be priced in the $850,000 to $2 million-plus range.

Now, Dubb is looking at other properties around the city for future projects.

He is convinced the Covid-19 pandemic will only increase the number of downstate New York and New Jersey residents who are interested in moving to or building a second home in Saratoga.

“I know people prior to Covid who were saying, ‘I want a better life or I want a town and something not so dense as New York City and the surrounding suburbs,'” Dubb said. “Home has taken on a new importance with people because of Covid.”

The founder of Beechwood Organization secured the remaining 53 lots at Oak Ridge from Jeffrey Snyder and Oak Ridge Development in April after looking at the 135-plus acre site on a whim in October.

“I really wasn’t looking to develop in Saratoga,” Dubb said.

The pastoral setting off Meadowbrook and Dyer Switch roads and the ability to construct four-, five- and six-bedroom homes with large porches, high-end finishes and garages tucked behind the houses caught his attention. Dubb sees the Oak Ridge by Beechwood project as a way to recreate what he describes as the “old Saratoga” architecture that exists along North Broadway and Union Avenue.

He expects the 53 homes will sell over the next three to four years, and he is not worried that the coronavirus pandemic and economic slowdown will jeopardize the project.

“Covid and the economic effects cannot take away the beauty and desirability of Saratoga,” Dubb said. “We may lose some restaurants and hotels. A few individuals may struggle. Long term, Saratoga is too strong … One or two economic rough years does not a town make.”

Dubb, 64, started visiting Saratoga Springs as a teenager and became heavily involved in thoroughbred racing over the years. He is a seven-time leading owner at Saratoga Race Course and serves on the board of the New York Racing Association, the nonprofit that manages the track.

Dubb and Beechwood also are currently building a daycare center in Saratoga Springs that will be donated for use by children of the backstretch workers at Saratoga Race Course. They constructed and donated a similar facility at the Belmont Park thoroughbred track nearly 20 years ago.

Dubb, who has owned a home in Saratoga Springs for 10 years, remains bullish in the track and Saratoga Springs despite the fact that the pandemic is preventing Saratoga Race Course to operate without fans for the first time this year.

Last week marked the first opening day in 30 years that Dubb has not attended the races.

“The main thing is that the show must go on,” he said. “We need the economy to keep going and we need to keep all of the people working.”

The post Why Michael Dubb Sees Opportunity in Saratoga Springs appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Seven-time Saratoga leading owner Michael Dubb is the founder of The Beechwood Organization, Long Island’s largest homebuilder which he operates with his son Steven. Dubb prides himself on attention to detail and building houses that feel like homes. Dubb, much like how he manages his highly successful racing stable, is on-site and hands-on in his design-build business.

These days you will find Dubb on the job in Saratoga Springs, a city for which he has had a growing affection. Dubb first visited Saratoga as racing fan. His passion for Thoroughbred racing began at Belmont Park when his was a teenager. As a young adult, he made his first drive to Saratoga Springs and he knew right away that this city would have a special place in his life.

“I had been a fan of horse racing starting with the races at Belmont Park from about the time I was 15 or 16 years old,” said Dubb. “I had never heard of Saratoga. A friend said “Come up”, so I went up in my van and I had never seen anything like it, and the feeling I got from Saratoga decades ago has never left me.”

Recently, Dubb was approached to look at a unique and partially incomplete development called Oak Ridge. The development comprises over 150 acres, but as part of the master plan, the homes are to be clustered overall to only about 50 acres. The remaining one hundred acres of natural land has been preserved as open space, including trails that connect to walking trails throughout Saratoga. Dubb purchased the property and has now set upon finishing the project.

The post Dubb’s Lasting Saratoga Legacy appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Dubb and Beechwood Organization of Jericho on Tuesday released details of a plan to build $850,000 to $2 million-plus homes in the Oak Ridge Development off Meadowbrook and Dyer Switch roads, 2.6 miles east of the Saratoga Springs thoroughbred track.

Beechwood purchased five lots for $600,000 from builder Jeffrey Snyder and Oak Ridge Development and secured an option on 48 others this spring.

Dubb, whose company has built more than 7,500 homes in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Long Island since 1985, runs Beechwood with his son, Steven. Now, they are planning a second phase of the Oak Ridge community where Snyder and his brother built and sold more than 50 homes.

Beechwood plans to construct three styles of homes including four- and five-bedroom carriage homes on one-third acre lots that would range in size from 2,200 square feet to 3,200 square feet.

Two larger styles would be built on lots up to one acre with high ceilings, up to six bedrooms and between 3,000 and 6,000-plus square feet of space. The project, known as Oak Ridge by Beechwood, will have model homes open by spring of 2021.

The Saratoga Springs project marks a transition of sorts for Dubb who has kept his business focused primarily downstate while spending part of his summers upstate due to his interest in racing.

Dubb, 64, began visiting Saratoga Springs when he was 17. Over the years, he became heavily involved with horse racing. He is a seven time leading thoroughbred owner at Saratoga Race Course, winning his most recent title in 2018. Dubb also serves on the board of the New York Racing Association, the nonprofit that manages the track.

Dubb was not immediately available Tuesday to discuss why he is interested in building homes in the Saratoga area. He is among a growing number of downstate business executives and developers who see opportunity in investing around Albany, Saratoga and Lake George.

The post Michael Dubb Planning 53 High-End Homes Near Saratoga Race Course appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The Beechwood Organization has launched sales for its condominium development at the site of the historic Village Latch Inn in Southampton.

Latch Southampton Village includes 20 new homes and a handful of units have been made available to buy based on floor plans. Prices range from $1.75 million for villa residences to $5 million for a renovated historic cottage. Occupancy is expected in spring 2021.

Several homes are already in contract since sales launched June 1, said Steven Dubb, principal, The Beechwood Organization.

“These are buyers, one from the Hamptons and one from New York City, who were persistently reaching out to us over the years because they were so eager to purchase at The Latch,” Dubb said. “Even before we were ready to open for sales, they bought homes, pre-construction off of floorplans, because of The Latch’s central Village location and exclusivity. There is unlikely to be another condominium development of this stature for years to come, if at all, in the Village of Southampton.”

Beechwood purchased the 5.24-acre property for $23 million in 2016. While awaiting approvals for construction, which were granted earlier this year, Beechwood refurbished the property and operated what it called The Latch Pop-Up Inn seasonally from 2017 to 2019.

The post The Beechwood Organization Launches Sales for Luxury Condos at The Latch Inn Southampton Village appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Dubb, founder and chief executive of The Beechwood Organization in Jericho, is under contract to buy 48 lots in the Oak Ridge neighborhood less than three miles east of the Saratoga Race Course.

Dubb, 64, and his company have constructed more than 7,500 homes in New York City and Long Island since 1985. The company signed a contract with Jeffrey Snyder and Oak Ridge Development. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed beyond the $318,000 deposit that Dubb made to purchase a portion of the multiphase, 100-plus lot, 134-acre subdivision.

Snyder and his brother spent several years developing a portion of Oak Ridge with million-dollar-plus homes with large porches, crown molding, hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances.

Oak Ridge is located off Meadowbrook and Dyer Switch roads in a neighborhood with carriage lanes and a fountain, 2.6 miles east of the main entrance to the track. The land management plan for the development was created by The LA Group Landscape Architecture & Engineering of Saratoga Springs.

Dubb has been heavily involved with Saratoga racing for decades, and is a member of the board of the New York Racing Association, the nonprofit that manages the track. Dubb also is a seven-time leading trainer at the Saratoga thoroughbred track with his most recent title coming in 2018. Last year, Dubb ranked second for the season.

A representative for Beechwood said Dubb is not yet ready to discuss its plans for the Oak Ridge Development property.

The post Top Saratoga Racehorse Owner Betting Big on Upscale Saratoga Housing Subdivision appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Preconstruction sales began this week for The Latch Southampton Village, a 20-unit condominium community on the former Village Latch Inn property.

Also this week, the main building on the site, which is 5 acres on the north side of Hill Street, was lifted so a top-to-bottom renovation could begin. That building is one of two historic structures that will remain while new buildings that complement the old will make up most of the luxury condo development.

The two turn-of-the-20th-century buildings by architect Stanford White of the renowned firm McKim, Mead & White are undergoing restoration and preservation overseen by James McMullan of Fleetwood & McMullan and Jason Poremba of Jason Thomas Architect, both local East End architects. Nonhistoric buildings circa the 1970s and 1980s have been razed to make way for the new construction.

Ground had broken on the project before Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New York State on PAUSE order in March halted construction statewide. Now that the order has expired, the developer of the project, the Beechwood Organization, has resumed work.

“We always felt like there would be demand for condo homes in the village, especially in a location as good as this,” Beechwood principal Steven Dubb said of The Latch on Monday. “Even though the market’s had ups and downs over the years, there’s still little new condominium products built in the Hamptons. And I think with people having an eye toward maybe spending more time out of the city, hopefully, our timing’s good.”

Mr. Dubb said The Latch Southampton Village is steps to Main Street and just a 10-minute walk to the village beaches.

The entry-level price is $1.75 million for a villa, of which there will be four that all share the same building. There will be two ground-floor units and two upper-level units.

“One’s in contract currently,” Mr. Dubb said. It sold to “somebody who couldn’t wait for us to open up officially for sales and wanted to be the first person to buy.”

And then there are 15 townhome units starting at $3.2 million.

“The townhomes are basement, ground floor, second floor, like any normal home, except you have a shared wall with your neighbor,” Mr. Dubb said.

Two townhomes are being made in the original 40-room main building, while the rest will be all-new construction. All of the townhomes will be end-units, meaning they have windows on three sides, with the exception of just one unit. That unit will be the center of a three-unit building that bookends the north end of the site.

The other historic building, known as the Terry Cottage, will be the 20th unit in the condominium association — and it will actually be a single-family home. The asking price for the 4,792-sqaure-foot cottage is $5 million.

The common charges at The Latch Southampton Village will be $1,095 per month plus taxes, and that includes use of the 53-foot-by-15-foot pool and the clubhouse.

“The clubhouse will have a fully equipped gym and a lounge area, and about as large of a swimming pool as we were able to get approved,” Mr. Dubb said. “So for all of our residents who are moving out of single-family homes where they are used to having a swimming pool, they won’t miss it because we have one on-site.”

Also among the amenities are garbage pickup, landscaping and snow removal.

“For our homeowners who are a little tired of having to deal with maintaining their home out in Southampton, we take that away from them,” Mr. Dubb said. “So it’s really worry-free and pretty turnkey. They can come out here, open up the house for the weekend, lock the door on their way out when they go back to New York City, and not have to worry about any of the maintenance stuff that they normally would with a home.”

The Beechwood Organization was also responsible for another condominium project in Southampton Village, Bishop’s Pond, a 79-unit community completed in 2015. Mr. Dubb said that Bishop’s Pond proved out the idea that there is a desire for condominiums in Southampton.

“There was a lot of questions about whether there would be demand for condominiums in Southampton Village,” he said, “because nobody had built them since the ’70s, ’80s. I think there had been one project build in the 1990s. When people thought about moving out to the Hamptons, or their Hamptons home, everyone envisioned the, sort of, Hamptons McMansion. You know, the single-family home on a lot of land. We had this idea that people would want to live in the Hamptons, but not deal with all the maintenance that came from a house.

“So we faced a lot of questions and a lot of skepticism before we started selling there. And of course, it went really, really well.”

The Latch project has been several years in the making, and in the meantime Beechwood maintained the property’s original use as a hotel. Since 2017, it was known as the Latch Pop-Up Inn.

“It was fun for a couple of summers to be part of the fabric of the hotel scene out in the Hamptons and to get to share it with other people for weekends at a time,” Mr. Dubb said.

The post Preconstruction Sales Begin at The Latch Southampton Village appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The condos, which range in price from $1.75 million to $5 million, are being built on the former site of the Village Latch Inn at 101 Hill St. in Southampton Village.

Jericho-based Beechwood purchased the 5.24-acre property for $23 million in 2016 and operated a seasonal pop-up inn on the property from 2017 to 2019.

The largest home at The Latch is the restored Terry Cottage, which is available pre-construction for $5 million. It is 4,792 square feet with 5-bedrooms, 5.5-baths plus the option of a finished basement for two additional bedrooms and includes a two-car garage.

Fifteen townhomes, two of which are in the restored Latch building, are priced from $3.2 million. They range from 2,763 to 3,168 square feet on two levels with 3-bedrooms and 3.5 baths, including a ground-floor master bedroom suite, plus a basement and garage.

Four villa residences, starting at $1.75 million for a ground-floor unit and $2.4 million for an upper unit, range from 1,434 to 1,991 square feet with 2 to 3 bedrooms and 2 to 3 baths. Ground-floor villas include basements. Upper floor villas include elevator access. Each residence has its own garage and driveway.

Amenities include a clubhouse with fitness center and outdoor pool.

Originally the grand annex to Southampton’s Irving Hotel in the early 1900s, the Village Latch Inn property consisted of a main hotel building with 25 guest rooms and six smaller buildings that had 42 additional rooms.

Beechwood is restoring the exteriors of the structures under the guidance of Hamptons architects James McMullan of Fleetwood & McMullan and Jason Poremba of Jason Thomas Architect.

“What we’re doing at The Latch is very special,” Steven Dubb, Beechwood principal, said in the statement. “We believe the new homes, including ones being preserved in historic structures, will be found by their new owners, neighbors and the village to be deserving of their Hill Street location.”

First occupancy at The Latch Southampton is expected to begin in spring 2021.

The post Pre-Construction Sales Start at The Beechwood Organization’s New Southampton Condo Community appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Lorraine Pizzo lived in a single-family home in Westbury for more than 40 years before moving to Country Pointe Meadows, a community for older adults in Yaphank.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic closing the complex’s clubhouse until further notice, the 72-year-old said her social life remains active, and she still believes that moving to the community, which surrounds a pond, was the best decision she’s made.

“Within reason, we try to do things together,” says Pizzo of her socially distanced interaction with neighbors and friends, including pond-front neighbors hosting outdoor BYOB gatherings. “We don’t get together at anyone’s homes, but we do gather outside when it’s a nice sunny day.”

Many Long Island seniors have downsized and moved to 55-and-over communities so they can avoid the social isolation that comes with staying in their homes. But with seniors at a higher risk of severe complications from COVID-19, residents have had to find creative ways to keep spirits up during the pandemic and resulting social distancing.

Anita Gorman, 72, a resident of Country Pointe Plainview, has organized a salute to health care workers every night at 8 that neighbors refer to as Solidarity at 8. Gorman, a retired elementary school teacher, brings a whistle, while other residents bang on cowbells and drums.

“The sound is incredible,” Gorman says. “We do it because it just makes us feel good and it gives us a sense of community. In eight weeks, we have not missed one night.”

A Zumba instructor who had led classes at Lift, the community’s now-shuttered gym, uploaded videos to YouTube for Gorman and her classmates to follow at home.

On nice days, Gorman and her neighbors set up Adirondack and camp chairs around the complex’s parking lot, using the painted spot as 6-foot markers.

After someone posted on the community’s Facebook page suggesting residents put items in their windows to lift spirits as people walk around the Country Point complex, residents have placed stuffed animals and pretty pictures in their windows.

“Also, we have some secret artists who have painted rocks with inspirational words and pictures and placed them around the community for us to find,” Gorman says. “It certainly brings smiles and cheers as we walk and find them.”

Property managers have been vigilant about restricting access to common spaces and sanitizing high-touch areas frequently.

Steven Dubb, a principal of The Beechwood Organization, which operates the age-restricted Country Pointe developments, comprising villas and townhomes, said the company has its construction team do the regular cleaning.

Property managers are also providing much-needed supplies and virtual amenities.

At The Vanderbilt in Westbury, Beechwood partnered with New York City and Hamptons restaurateur James Mallios, who runs Calissa in Water Mill, to launch a pop-up called the Vanderbilt Market. The market, which occupies a space that normally leads to the building’s gym, offers prepared food, wine and pantry items, including paper goods, cleaning supplies and pet food, with no-touch credit card payments. Three customers are allowed in at a time and lunch, brunch and dinner meals are available for contactless delivery to Vanderbilt residents, with plans to expand it to other Beechwood communities.

“That’s been really well received,” said Dubb, who estimates the market delivers roughly 50 meals per day.

Mike Stone, a 72-year-old who moved to The Vanderbilt in February, said he hasn’t gone to a supermarket in several weeks, and the market provides incredible convenience.

“They cater to food allergies and I order fresh fish to cook myself,” says Stone, a retired lawyer.

Beechwood is also organizing a virtual wine tasting for Vanderbilt residents, delivering packages of cheese and crackers to participants.

The post Long Island’s 55+ Communities Find Ways to Stay Connected During Pandemic appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Can you tell me about real estate taxes in a 55-and-over community?

“The number one question we get from buyers is about real estate taxes,” said Ron Bloomfield, director of sales and marketing at The Manors at the Colony Preserve in Shirley. “Since in a typical 55-and-over condominium community there are no school age children under 18 or 19, the real estate taxes are between one-third to a half lower than a single-family home in the area. If a purchaser qualifies for the New York State STAR program, the taxes are in the$4,000 range in our community.”

Can I afford it?

Michael Dubb, founder and CEO of Beechwood Homes, which includes Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank and Country Pointe in Plainview, said many people are surprised to learn that moving to a 55-and-over community will actually save them money. “Make a line-by-line cost comparison of monthly carrying costs, between owning the existing family home and a new home in one of our communities,” Dubb said. Most people will find savings on landscaping, pool maintenance, snow removal, homeowner insurance and more, he said. “Our owners spend less and worry less. Community living is much more affordable than one may realize at first.”

Why should I leave the house I raised my family in?

“Southold has a rich history and is well-known for its beaches, farmlands, vineyards, eateries and suburban, laid-back lifestyle,” said Vicky Meigel, director of sales at Harvest Pointe in Cutchogue. “Our condominiums have a luxury, resort-style feel. Full-service, 55-plus communities will help keep families here on Long Island, and also appeal to empty nesters who may not want the hassle of owning a home.”

Will there be additional fees for maintenance, pets, garbage, the clubhouse, parking, etc.?

All interior and exterior maintenance is taken care of, said Jennifer Grenard, leasing manager at The Vistas of Port Jefferson. “We believe in a no additional fee policy,” she said. “We do not charge for any of the conveniences and luxuries that go along with resort-style community living. We also believe pets are part of the family and you shouldn’t pay extra for a family member. In addition, we have on-site management, a superintendent and 24-hour maintenance staff to address resident issues,” she said.

In the world of 55-and-over homes, what does independent living look like? “Independent living is a chosen lifestyle of luxury living, with a warm community feel,” said Rachel Capone, executive director of The Residences at Plainview. “There are endless amenities included in your monthly rent, including scheduled trips, pools,
a fitness center and community events. We have a restaurant-style dining room, and when you need to rest or to visit with family, you can return to your private apartment.”

While knowing the most popular questions is key, it’s also important to know what potential buyers or renters should be asking but are not. Here are a few to consider:

What is the reputation of the builder?

There are so many questions around this one topic, said Dubb. “Buyers should want to know who is building their house, what is their track record, will warranties be guaranteed, will they deliver on promised quality of finishes and many more,” he said. “Ask for a tour of the community you are considering. Visit others by the same developer. Talk to homeowners there for their first-hand experiences. Go online and search for the company in the news. Answers about the reputation of the builder will give confidence in your decision.”

How does condominium living simplify your lifestyle?

“It is a maintenance-free environment, with an abundance of new recreational amenities to enjoy, and the possibility of new friends to participate with in these activities,” said Bloomfield. “It can be a new beginning for many people. At The Manors, you don’t have to worry about anything outside of your door. You own from the Sheetrock in — the siding, roofing and sanitary systems are all the homeowners association’s responsibility. The lawn, the trees and shrubs, weeding, raking leaves, snow removal, are not your problem.”

Would it benefit me to have a cost-of-living analysis completed prior to shopping for an independent living home?
“When you have completed a cost-of-living analysis you will be educated on all the costs factored into owning and living in your own home,” said Capone. “As opposed to knowing what your rent will include and be every month. This allows you to fully understand your budget needs and desires.”

What makes your community stand out from other rental communities on Long Island?

“The Vistas of Port Jefferson are conveniently located on the North Shore and offer single-level or townhome living,” said Grenard. “Each apartment includes designer finishes, open floor plans with 9-foot ceilings, recessed lighting, crown molding and oversized closets. [It’s] a gated community with a 24-hour site surveillance network, an on-site dog park, walking trails, and is a 100% smoke-free.”

What is the surrounding community like?

When looking for your forever home, you should always ask about the community, said Meigel. “Being walking distance to parks, shops and restaurants is a big plus for an active lifestyle. I always tell prospective buyers to stop by a local supermarket or store. It will give you a great insight to what the neighborhood is like.”

The post Questions You Should Ask Before You Buy or Rent at a 55+ Community appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Rightsizing, he says, is when you’re ready to get rid of the big home – the stairs, the maintenance, yard – and go to a community where most of the living is on a single level and the big chores are done for you. “It’s that turnkey kind of living. It frees up your time to enjoy your life and your home, worry-free,” Dubb says. Dubb’s company set the benchmark for luxury, resort-style communities for active adults on LongIsland, first in Westbury, then Medford, and now with new communities in East Meadow, Plainview, Smithtown and Yaphank.

As you age, staying healthy, socializing and doing things that enhance your life take on greater significance. A development with an activity director and calendar of clubs, classes and events is a big plus. A well-equipped gym is also essential. Generally, bigger communities offer more amenities, such as indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, bocce, pickleball and open space for walkability with more opportunities for socializingand a greater diversity of activities from which to choose. Make a list of what is important to you and see ifthe community includes these things. Consider the location and make sure it’s close to things that you value. In many instances, family and grandchildren are the main reasons why people want to remain on Long Island. Is the community near things you want to be closer to, such as beaches, golf, farm stands or shopping? Security is also something to check off your list. A manned gatehouse and 24-hour roving security are more desirable and personal than card access. Residents can be assured their belongings are safe and that everything is being taken care of, including snow removal.

It’s also useful to compare the cost of community life to the savings you may make without the need for security systems, homeowner insurance, landscaping, snow removal, gym membership and entertainment.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR TIMELINE?

If you need to sell your house first, will the builder work with you on stretching closing dates or even help to find a rental during your transition?“It’s important to look at other communities by the builder and to see how the residents like living there,” Dubb says. “A reputable builder will also be there for any kind of warranty.”
Look for gourmet kitchens with top-of-the-line appliances, fixtures and countertops and good hardwood floors. “While you should not have to do much more to upgrade your new home (it’s an all-inclusive package), you should be able to hand pick kitchen and bath finishes with a visit to the builder’s design center,” Dubb says. Rightsizing also means moving to well-designed spaces inside and out. Does the community offer different style homes, for example, multi-level townhomes and single-level apartments? Do floorplans suit your lifestyle? Are layouts open with plenty of natural light? How far is the drive or walk to the clubhouse or shopping? Depending on your needs and time frame, you might prefer a home that’s ready to move into or one that can be built to your exact specifications. If the latter is what you desire, find a community that offers this option.

The post Long Island Living: How to Choose a 55+ Community appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

For many gray-haired Long Islanders, the golden years are more rock ‘n’ roll than rocking chairs.

Affluent and active senior citizens are buying Corvettes, filling concert halls, shopping for jewelry and booking vacations. Their numbers are growing, and businesses are taking notice.

Consider the data: 34% of Nassau County householders 65 plus and 28% of those in Suffolk report annual incomes of more than $100,000, according to 2017 Census data tabulated by the Center for an Urban Future, a Manhattan think tank.

To be sure, about 8% of Long Island’s 65-plus households fall below the federal poverty line, and several times that number are considered financially stressed.

But seniors lucky enough to have disposable income are spending it.

A look around the region’s music venues shows that many concertgoers are old enough to remember seeing the Beatles appear on “Ed Sullivan.” Laura Mogul, executive director of Port Washington’s Landmark on Main Street Inc. theater, estimates about one-third of her concertgoers are 65-plus.

“I look around and there’s a lot of gray hair,” she said of the 425-seat venue that books acts like pop diva Darlene Love, pianist George Winston and rocker Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen’s drummer).

Mogul uses print publications, direct mail (using demographic data to the neighborhood level) and digital platforms like email and Facebook to target prospective concertgoers. “We’re not specifically targeting” senior citizens, she said, though Landmark uses Facebook’s tools to zero in on fans of particular artists plus fans of similar artists (think Darlene Love and Tina Turner).

Many seniors are driving to those concerts in style. On Long Island, almost one in four buyers of new vehicles is 65 or over, according to Strategic Vision, a San Diego advisory firm.

Some new-car buyers want to feel the wind in their gray hair.

The median age for Long Island buyers of Chevrolet Corvette convertibles is 66. (Prices range from about $61,000 to $126,000.) The median age goes down to a sprightly 62 for Corvette coupes and the sporty Audi TT roadster, according to the data.

If that’s too downscale, try the Ferrari California with a price of about $202,000 and a top speed of roughly 196 mph. Median buyer age on Long Island: 63.

“While they may be 63 years old, their values and priorities are the same as when they were 43 years old,” said Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision.

Long Island’s 65 and over segment will grow fast, according to projections by the Cornell Program on Applied Demographics.

In Nassau, that group is expected to increase by about 46% from 2015 to 2030, expanding to 23% of the overall population at the end of that period, when the youngest Baby Boomers turn 65.

In Suffolk, the 65-plus contingent is projected to grow even faster from 2015 to 2030, increasing by more than 50% to 24% of the overall population.

Michael Dubb, founder and chief executive of Jericho-based housing developer The Beechwood Organization, said Long Island has a large contingent of empty nesters who are seeking maintenance-free living and amenities like walking trails, pickle ball courts and playgrounds for grandchildren.

Dubb has developed 60 communities on Long Island and in the greater metropolitan area, many aimed at homeowners aged 55- or 62-plus.

“I definitely build based on a demographic,” said Dubb, “Depending on the community I’m building, I try to bring the bells and whistles for that community.”

Eighty percent of the units in Beechwood’s Country Pointe communities in Yaphank, Smithtown and Plainview are age-restricted.

Pricing for the 750 units at Country Pointe Plainview, some not yet built, will range from upward of $600,000 to $1.6 million.

Steve Malinsky, 72, and his wife Phyllis moved into their newly constructed home at Country Pointe Plainview in February. He grew up in Brooklyn and Queens and moved to New Hampshire in 1976.

Over 37 years, Malinsky built a business manufacturing wooden moldings that supported 53 employees working three shifts.

After selling the business to three employees, the Malinskys headed south to Long Island to be closer to a daughter and grandchildren in Port Washington .

Malinsky said he is finding a sense of community at the Plainview development, where he also has time to dote on a 1955 ice blue metallic Austin-Healy Model 100 convertible, which he personally restored in New Hampshire. He said his investment in the car–not counting labor–is the equivalent of buying a “high-end, decked out Mercedes.”

“There are only about 2,500 left in the world,” he said of the sports car that he bought from an estate sale. “It’s literally a brand-new car.”

These days the Malinskys also have time to travel. They’ve been to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Tibet, Argentina, Chile, Kenya and Tanzania. Upcoming destinations include Aruba and Israel.

More than one in five Long Islanders aged 65 or older was working, according to 2018 data. Overall, the number of Long Island workers aged 65 and older grew more than 50% from 65,163 in 2010 to 99,812 in 2018.

Fewer companies provide health care to retirees, which creates an incentive to keep working. Plus changes in Social Security regulations encourage workers to wait until age 70 to maximize their benefits or collect benefits and salary at the same time.

Though many 65-plus Long Island householders fit the affluent profile, about 8 percent in Nassau and 9 percent in Suffolk fall below the poverty line. A United Way study found that as of 2016 a much larger segment–31% in Nassau and 36% in Suffolk–faced financial struggles as part of a category known as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — the so-called working poor.

Still, for those Long Island seniors who have found financial security, the golden years can be golden indeed.

Steve Malinsky said that when he was a youngster, “I didn’t realize we were poor. My parents worked paycheck to paycheck. My father lost a hand in an industrial accident.”

But Malinsky was able to build a business and flip the script.

“So far,” he said, “I’ve lived the American dream.”

The post Country Pointe Communities Featured in Newsday Article appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Long Island Restaurant week begins on Sunday, November 3rd. Among a long list of nearly 250 participating restaurants, Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant was named by Newsday as a top 10 spot to give a shot.

Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant (Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant, 990 Corporate Dr., Westbury): Chef Tom Schaudel’s sole Nassau County restaurant is a modernist showstopper of pearly hues, luxe leather booths and a centerpiece bar brimming with oysters. During Restaurant Week, those oysters will come fried with smashed avocado and passion fruit fire oil (an appetizer, $3 extra) and larger plates are rife with Asian-fusion detailing, such as almond-crusted swordfish with coconut squash puree and curry oil, or togarashi-spiced tuna with baby bok choy, forbidden rice, mango salsa and Thai-curry vinaigrette ($5 upcharge).

Make a reservation at Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant for Fall Long Island Restaurant Week from November 3 – 10, 2019. Kingfish will offer a $29.95 three-course prix fixe all night every night they are open from Sunday to Sunday, except Saturday when it only has to be offered until 7 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there!

More info: 516-640-5777, kingfishoysterbar.com

For more info, visit longislandrestaurantweek.com

The post Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant Featured as Top 10 Spot to Try During Long Island Restaurant Week appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

After putting his three kids through college, credit card industry veteran Mike Turano no longer had a need for his big custom-built Stony Brook home, so he started eyeing a move down south.

But before he and his wife packed up and left New York, they stumbled upon Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank, a luxurious 400-home condominium lifestyle community for adults aged 55-plus. A year after becoming its first resident last summer, he couldn’t be happier that they decided to stay close to their kids on LI — and are doing so in style.

“It’s very upscale,” he says. “For what you’re paying, I think this is total value. One hundred percent.”

Pricing ranges from the upper $400,000s to the upper $600,000s with real estate taxes as low as $3,900 — well under the $21,000 Turano was paying in property taxes in his previous home — at Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank. It’s the for-sale, home-ownership component of The Boulevard, a 322-acre smart growth mixed-used development that will include retail stores, a park, dog park, hotel, baseball field, track, rental apartments, and assisted-living facility.

“It’s a great place to meet your neighbors and spend time with your family,” Turano says. “Knowing what Long Island costs to live, this really kept me here and it really helped us out and allowed us to continue a beautiful lifestyle.”

The development is being built in three phases, with phase one completed and nearly sold out. Phase two is currently underway and is a third has been sold, for a combined 65 units bought so far, with more in contract. Phase three starts in 2021.

Conveniently located right off exit 68 on the Long Island Expressway, a half hour drive from Syosset and near the gateway to the East End’s farms, vineyards, golfing, shopping, and waterfront — assuming residents can tear themselves away from their beautiful abodes.

“The level of finish and quality of the home, our open floor plan, the wood floors, the marble counter tops … There’s nothing like it in Suffolk right now in terms of retirement communities being built,” says Steven Dubb, a principal of the Jericho-based Beechwood Organization, Long Island’s largest homebuilder. “The condo lifestyle is what our residents are looking for.”

At the heart of the community is an active 11,000-square-foot clubhouse boasting a ballroom, oversized gym, bar, barbecue area, firepits, patio, pool, and all the amenities of resort-style living.

“It feels like you’re on a vacation,” says Maria Pini — like Turano, an empty nester — who moved to the community from Woodbury with her husband. “It’s really that kind of atmosphere. There’s no pressure.”

Of course, what makes a community great is not just top-notch houses with high-end creature comforts, but also quality people.

“We now have more friends than we could have possibly met anywhere else,” Turano says. “And they’re all just like us — the same exact story. They’re here on Long Island, they had the big house, the kids moved on, and this was their opportunity to stay on Long Island because the taxes are reasonable and the maintenance fees are reasonable. Everyone’s loving it here and I honestly can’t say a bad thing about it.”

The Beechwood Organization is hosting an open house at Country Pointe Meadows from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12. The community is located at 1 Grace Hall Lane, Yaphank.

The post Boomers Can Retire in Style at Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Following this approach, mixologists at Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Westbury were inspired by their locale when concocting one of the more sophisticated cocktails on its menu.

“I wanted to create a drink that was beautiful, sexy, sophisticated, and interesting — just like the gorgeous building we are located in,” says Courtney Schaudel, general manager at Kingfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant, an upscale seafood restaurant located in The Vanderbilt, a luxury apartment rental residence and hotel. “The building owner had this idea of doing a masculine Creamsicle, and this was one of those rare drinks that came to fruition very quickly. I ended up commuting to the first incarnation.”

One of the cocktail’s key ingredients is egg white, which gives the drink “its swag,” she says. It’s what enriches The Vanderbilt’s texture.

“The white goes in first, to ensure no shells try to get in on the action, followed by the rest of the ingredients,” Schaudel says. “Top the shaker with ice and shake for 15 seconds. This allows the white to emulsify with its counterparts and creates a slinky, beautiful finish. One of our bartenders is a bodybuilder, and she jokes that this drink is part of her arm workout.”

Besides egg white, The Vanderbilt is also made with High West Bourbon, tangerine juice, Peychaud’s Bitters, house-made orange marmalade, and Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur.

“This drink is a grownup Creamsicle,” Schaudel says. “It appeals to both men and women. The citrus softens the bourbon, making it a crowd-pleaser. It has sweet notes of tangerine, but the bourbon brings it back down to earth. It’s one of those dangerously delicious cocktails.”

The cocktail is served up in a coupe glass and garnished with a long orange twist.

“Some people are a bit freaked out by the egg white factor, but once they hear the reasoning behind it, almost everyone gets on board,” she says. “It does take a little patience, because the creation is a labor of love, like any crafted cocktail. But it’s certainly worth the wait.”

The post New Sophisticated Cocktail at King Fish Oyster Bar & Restaurant: The Vanderbilt appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Long Island leads the state in its electric vehicle use, according to a new report.

Of the 42,529 all-electric and electric hybrid vehicles registered in the state as of June, 30 percent were on Long Island, according to a report released this week by Drive Electric Long Island, a coalition of electric vehicle stakeholders.

The percentage is higher than Long Island’s percentage of all passenger vehicle registrations in the state — 22 percent of 8.8 million automobiles as of Sept. 3, according to New York State Department of Motor Vehicles data.

“We attribute Long Island being the largest market for EVs based on our region having the most number of registered standard cars in [the state] and the highest number of cars per household … along with high median household income,” said Rosemary Mascali, chair of the Drive Electric Long Island education and outreach subcommittee, who authored most of the report.

Founded in 2018, Drive Electric Long Island is led by the Long Island chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and includes Farmingdale State College, the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College and other groups.

Using data from the New York State Energy Research Development Authority’s Clean Transportation Program, the coalition’s report examines electric vehicle adoption on Long Island, supporting charging station infrastructure and opportunities to expand both.

While the number of charging stations has grown on Long Island, more are needed, the report said.

There is an average of 0.7 electric vehicles per public Level 2 Port in New York State, compared to 42 vehicles per public Level 2 Port on Long Island. (Level 2 stations provide cars with up to 25 miles of driving range for each hour they charge, according to NYSERDA.)

The increasing number of electric vehicles hitting the market and increased awareness about their benefits — reduced greenhouse emissions — will push adoption higher in 2020, the report said. Incentives are a factor, too.

The state’s Clean Pass program allows low-emission, energy-efficient vehicles to use the Long Island Expressway’s high-occupancy lanes regardless of how many passengers are in the cars.

New York’s Drive Clean program offers rebates of up to $2,000 toward the purchase or lease of a new electric car. A federal tax credit for $7,500 is available on electric vehicles, excluding Tesla and General Motors, which have met the federal threshold of selling 200,000 cars to begin rolling back the rebates, said Jeremy Acevedo, senior manager of insights at Edmunds, a Santa Monica, California-based vehicle information provider.

The most popular electric vehicles on Long Island are the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid and Tesla Model 3 battery electric vehicle, according to the report.

Even with rebates, price can be a hindrance for the average consumer.

The gas-powered version of the Hyundai Kona, a compact SUV, starts at $20,000, while the electric version starts at $37,000, Acevedo said. The Volkswagon Golf’s gas-powered version starts at $22,000, while the electric version starts at $32,000.

Electric vehicles cost more because the battery packs are expensive and the manufacturers can’t rely on cross-sharing the drive trains and other technology from their gas-powered vehicles, Acevedo said.

Of households with electric vehicles nationwide in July, 69.2 percent had annual incomes of at least $100,000, said Thomas Libby, loyalty principal at IHS Market, a market information firm based in London.

The electric car market in the United States doubled from 0.6 percent in 2017 to 1.3 percent in 2018.

The post Long Island Leads New York in Eletric Vehicle Use appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

With the stunning beach views, a stellar ferry service, and stylish restaurants to boot, it’s no surprise that families, ‘hipsters’ and everyone in between are hoping to own or rent a property here, with the arrival of developments like One Sixteen and The Tides at Arverne by The Sea.

“As the Rockaways become a more year-round community with services and activities available not just in the summertime, people are naturally gravitating towards the beachfront, laidback environment,” said Maxine Resnick, a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with Compass representing One Sixteen. “As prices continue to rise in Manhattan and Brooklyn, buyers are also drawn to the comparatively lower prices.”

Maryanne Farrell, another member of the development’s Sales Team with Compass, emphasized that house hunters have the “distinct advantage of buying in early on a block that is on the tipping point of undergoing a major renaissance.”

“We’ve had strong interest from local Rockaways buyers as well as people relocating from other parts of the New York metro area and as far away as Philadelphia,” Farrell added. Indeed, Kelly and Kristin Neinast of the Corcoran Group have found that their clients are buying property all over Rockaway, “now that the ferry is here and it’s an easy trip into Manhattan, there is no part of the peninsula that is off limits.”

“People are buying houses here for all different reasons,” Kristin told The Wave. “Some want a lifestyle change and want the more laid back beach scene, some are moving from their current neighborhoods because they want more of a community feel for their children to grow up in, some are moving to be close to their family and some are getting priced out of their current neighborhoods.”

Realtor Robin Shapiro pointed out that despite the peninsula’s increasing popularity, it maintains the “feel of a small town, where you can run into friends walking in the streets, bike riding, surfing or just hanging out at the beach!”

“I get the biggest kick out of being told that living here for 33 years I’m still a newcomer,” Shapiro told The Wave. “With close proximity to the city by train, bus, car, and ferry, more and more people are falling in love with our ocean town.”

Affordability is a large part of it agrees Maureen Walsh of Walsh Properties, who told The Wave that Rockaway offers a great opportunity for empty nesters/boomers from Brooklyn, “who are getting very good prices for their homes … [and] paying all cash or close to it.” But where exactly are these new arrivals flocking to?

“Sometimes, they are coming with an adult child who is married and needs childcare since both parents are working,” Walsh explained. “These homes are in the Rockaway Park/Belle Harbor areas and range in price from $900’s to over a million if they’re in good shape.

“These people are coming here because the makeup of their communities is changing and the groups moving into their neighborhood tend to be exclusionary—that is, if you’re not one of them, they don’t talk to you and, in some cases, harass you to move. But they do give you enough money to move to another decent neighborhood.”

She said the number of Brooklyn realtors setting up shop here is indicative of the mass exodus from the borough, while Long Island residents are also jumping ship in favor of lower taxes, adding that the ferry is a “home run for us.”

“Then we have the surfing, artist, [and] freelancer community who are realistic to know that they can’t afford a million dollar house so they’re buying on the bay blocks in the Arverne/Edgemere areas,” Walsh continued. “These homes vary in price but $3-600K range, some of which are two family homes are home runs for them. When they hit a bump in the road with income streams, the rental helps pay the mortgage.”

Likewise, Lisa Jackson, the owner of Rockaway Properties, noted that buyers with families from Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Bensonhurst, Bayridge, and Dyker Heights are mostly buying homes in the Neponsit, Belle Harbor, and Rockaway Park area. Jackson cited four primary reasons for these new arrivals: Rockaway’s increasing popularity; people being priced out of their neighborhoods; the NYC Ferry; and, of course, our beautiful beach.

“I see the younger hip buyers investing further downtown in the Rockaway Beach, Arverne and Far Rockaway area [where] prices are more affordable and they are seizing the opportunity to gentrify the neighborhood,” she said.

However, longtime residents have contended with the downsides of living in a beach community after Superstorm Sandy, so there is some concern as to how these new neighbors will contribute to the community— what are they doing to invest in it? According to the Neinast sisters, many clients like Bobby and Jen Graziose of Beach Tripper and Katie Long, the owner of The Swell Life, have actually set up shop here too.

“Businesses like this are helping the neighborhoods stores, shops, restaurants, etc by making it easy for beachgoers to come down for the day and spend time at the beach and our local establishments,” Kristin explained, while her sister added that these Brooklynites have since become part of the Rockaway furniture: “clients have now become friends,” Kelly explained.

What’s more, Jackson pointed out that many new owners are beautifying their homes, giving the surrounding area a much-needed makeover and thus enhancing the community: “Buyers are buying personal homes for their families, investment properties and seasonal retreats. So many of our buyers are improving their investments by remodeling, modernizing the homes and adding beautiful landscaping for a fresh new look. This is making our neighborhood even more beautiful.”

Despite the sun, sea and increased safety, do the benefits of living in this beach community really outweigh the downsides like flood insurance and elevated houses? Yes, yes, and yes say, Jackson, Walsh, and the Neinsat sisters.

“There are so many benefits to living by the beach: fresh clean air, delightful bike rides on our new boardwalk and bike lanes, trendy concession stands, no congestion, and a beautiful clean community,” said Jackson. “The flood insurance has not stopped people from buying in our area, depending on the elevation of the home flood insurance can cost you less than $500 per year.”

In fact, Resnick said there wasn’t much concern regarding a Sandy 2.0 from prospective buyers when “One Sixteen is built to the highest standards of post-Sandy building codes for flood zone protection,” like the majority of newer, savvier projects.

“Although it is agony to get to other parts of the city from here, who doesn’t like living at the beach?” agreed Walsh, who is sure that the new “hot spot” in Rockaway will be Arverne by the Bay and north of the freeway, due to its affordability and convenient location (“it’s the first stop on the Far Rockaway ‘A’ trainno changing at Broad Channel,” she explained).

The Neinsat sisters, who not only sell properties here but have grown up in the neighborhood and continue to live here, are sure there is no community like it.

“There are not many places where you can walk down the block and say hello to every person that you see whether it be a relative of yours or just an acquaintance,” Kristin told The Wave. “The effects of Superstorm Sandy will never change our minds about living in this great community!”

“From something so tragic came an incredible sense of community and resilience. If anything, Sandy brought the neighborhood closer,” Kelly added.

The post People are Relocating to Rockaway appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

For some Long Islanders, an empty nest means downsizing to a smaller, more manageable space. For others, it means moving to a place where you will no longer have to worry about climbing stairs or doing yard work. A few even make the bold move to upgrade by finally building what they describe as their dream home.

Regardless of what form it takes, these Long Islanders say the most exciting part of empty nesting isn’t about logistics so much as a renewed sense of independence…

“We wanted a master bedroom on the first floor”

It took Drs. Sushil and Prem Sagar years to find the right home after their two daughters, now aged 37 and 34, left they say. “I saw a lot of houses I didn’t like,” says Sushil, 65. “Some had a small bedroom downstairs, or were old.” The couple moved into their three-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot town house at the Country Pointe Plainview development this spring. One of the biggest selling points for the medical doctors was the layout. “We wanted a master bedroom on the first floor,” says Prem, 64, who works as a hospitalist.

Convenience was another selling point. “We want to travel more, and we don’t want to be responsible for taking care of a house,” says Sushil, who works as a nephrologist. He adds that their former home, a 4,000-square-foot, five-bedroom house in East Meadow, where they lived for 24 years, had a pool they didn’t make much use of. The outdoor maintenance on the property was proving inconvenient.

Their new home has everything they were looking for. The bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen and deck also are on the main floor, and there’s a guest bedroom upstairs for when their children and two grandchildren visit. Moreover, there is a sense of camaraderie in the brand-new development because everyone has just moved in. “I’m sure we’re going to make friends, because everyone is looking to make friends,” says Prem.

Their advice For Long Islanders thinking of making a similar move, Sushil recommends patience. “This can be challenging,” he says. “But it can be done. There will be new ways of looking at things, and moving is a lot of work, so you should feel free to ask for as much help as you need, and make the move in phases.” He says that not forcing the pace of the transition is key. “When you make the move comfortably, you will settle in comfortably,” he says. “So don’t rush, and take baby steps. It’s a big project.” He also recommends looking for the perfect fit. “Look for a house you really love,” he says. “Don’t move prematurely.”

The post These Long Islanders are Empty Nesting at Country Pointe Plainview and Loving It appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Sleepy Arverne is attracting entrepreneurs from its neighbor to the west, Rockaway Beach. As gentrification there continues, the community adjusts to the spotlight.

You will smell it before you see it. Goody’s, a 30-year-old West Indian restaurant known for its oxtail and jerk chicken, brims with locals, many of Caribbean descent with discerning palates. It is a staple for residents of Arverne, Queens, a tight-knit but often overlooked neighborhood located between Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway.

On a Saturday afternoon in April, teenagers in Champion sweats and their younger siblings in face paint lined up at the counter, in addition to a few middle-aged men on their way home from work, and a tall woman with long blond braids who asked for her container of fried fish to be left open. That way it wouldn’t be soggy after her 20-minute commute, she explained to the employees in T-shirts that said, “Goody’s, It’s All Good.”

Most patrons take their food to go, but some prefer to linger in a screened-in side porch, depending on the evening breeze. Other customers will take their meals around the corner to the Rockaway Brewing Company on Beach 72nd Street, a three year-old bar in a garage-like structure lined with surfboards and vinyl records. On the busiest summer weekends, Goody’s had to hire a “food runner” to deliver orders to the bar.

The unofficial business agreement between Rockaway Brewing and Goody’s represents how the lines that have divided a peninsula long defined by race and socioeconomic standing have started to blur. Other entrepreneurs have noticed, and have set up shop in Arverne, too. What remains to be seen is whether this working-class neighborhood, which is over 60 percent black and about 20 percent Latino, will continue to embrace and be embraced by the new business interests steadily moving into the area.

“We don’t see people’s color, just the color of their money,” said Gary Robinson, who owns Goody’s along with his wife, Joan Robinson. They also own and rent out several apartments in Arverne.

Perhaps the biggest mover and shaker in the neighborhood has been the waterfront development project called Arverne by the Sea, which ushered in picket-fenced townhouses in 2010; a Stop & Shop grocery store and a YMCA followed in 2011. The community’s most recent phase, luxury apartments over shops and cafes called the Tides, broke ground this past fall. The first of eight buildings is now at 98 percent occupancy.

“Arverne by the Sea did it right,” said Nicole Russell, who grew up on Beach 64th Street when the neighborhood offered almost no food options for her and her family. “They not only built up our land, but they brought something for the community too, like food and jobs,” she continued. “But we need more.”

More is on its way. And much of it is connected to the new Tides complex, including second locations for two well-known Rockaway Beach businesses.

“Arverne needs something to eat,” said Claudette Flatow of Cuisine by Claudette, a health-conscious cafe on bustling Beach 116th Street that will also open a new restaurant on the ground floor of the Tides at the end of this month.

Ms. Flatow, an Israeli and French transplant, first came to the peninsula in 1994. “Nothing was here,” she said of Rockaway Beach when she opened her restaurant there in 2012. “I took a big risk,” she continued, “but the neighborhood took me in like I’m a part of Rockaway, and I know the same thing will happen in Arverne.”

Locals Surf School, another Rockaway Beach fixture that started out in 2011 storing boards in the back of an old silver van, has also opened a cafe and a 100-locker surfboard storage business at the Tides.

“We had the beach all to ourselves,” said Mike Reinhardt, a co-owner of Locals Surf School, about Arverne, just a few years ago. “We knew it was only a matter of time that people would wake up and realize it’s easier to get to this beach by subway than any other beach in Rockaway.”(The A train to Far Rockaway runs directly to Beach 67th Street in Arverne, unlike the Rockaway Beach stops, which require a transfer at Broad Channel.)

Several longtime business owners in Arverne welcome the renewed interest in their neighborhood. “We’ve been a food desert for so long,” said Ms. Russell, who has been making 150 pizzas a week and selling them out of her home since 2014. She calls her business Last Dragon Pizza, and like Goody’s, it also provides takeout for Rockaway Brewing customers during the off-season.

“Making pizza restored my faith in people, because Rockaway is very territorial,” said Ms. Russell. “For a long time, if you lived in Rockaway Beach, you didn’t come down to Arverne — my customers would be like, ‘Where is that?’”

Emmanuel Loncke, 34, who runs Smoothie Haven on Beach Channel Drive next door to his father’s church, Arverne Pilgrim Church, feels similarly to Ms. Russell. “Growing up, people almost forgot we were here,” he said. “But now we’re seeing a lot of growth, commercial property is almost already gone, and I think we have the grounds to produce a small but mighty town.”

Ms. Russell and other residents do have concerns about the rapid development.

Much of the peninsula, she explained, has a history of being overlooked by the city in terms of resources, despite the needs of residents, who range from homeowners still rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy to those living in nearby public housing like Edgemere and Hammel Houses. In addition, the vacant land, especially by the bay, has been used as a de facto dumping ground for years.

“We’re working-class people who clean up after ourselves,” Ms. Russell said, so new residents and those with commercial interests in the area “need to respect the community and the investment we’ve made.”

Ozzie Edwards, 47, who is a member of Community Board 14, said that he is ready for even more growth. “Sure, these establishments are bringing more people and awareness to the neighborhood,” he said. “The coffee shop, the wine bar, these are small luxuries that no doubt benefit all people, but what about more jobs? Can there be another Stop & Shop or big box store that could offer real stability? Like, for example, and I’m just throwing this out there, but if only Amazon came to Rockaway, that would open up thousands of jobs for residents.”

Despite the increased economic activity near Arverne by the Sea, the low-lying streets along the bay are still littered with trash and spotted with sinkholes, and telephone wires dangle over sidewalks ominously. “It’s just a shame the bay front isn’t developed,” said Mike Kololyan, Mr. Reinhardt’s partner at Locals Surf School. Mr. Reinhardt said: “You go to San Diego, even Boston, and both the ocean and the bay have amazing promenades — it makes no sense. If this was Brooklyn or Manhattan, it would have been developed a long time ago.”

But there’s at least one Rockaway-based pioneer banking on the bay. David Selig, 54, a co-owner of the now-defunct Rockaway Taco, the original hipster outpost that opened 11 years ago and is credited with bringing a food scene to the peninsula, has opened Edgemere Market, a farm stand connected to a farm he partly owns on Beach 45th Street in the neighborhood of Edgemere, just east of Arverne.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, as Mr. Selig stood outside a garage full of local produce — Kyoto carrots, watermelon radishes, Wagyu beef and loaves of homemade sourdough — he said that he saw great investment potential in the area, which is why he said he “outbid God for it,” recalling his bidding war over the property with a church. “Food starts the dialogue,” Mr. Selig said, referring to the slower and more subtle signs of development on his side of town.

But change is slowly coming.

The yogis are there: On Beach 68th Street and Thursby Avenue, just down the street from El Capitan, a deli and grocery with what are said to be the best empanadas in town, is the Rockaway Summer House. Housed in a building once owned by Harry Belafonte, it is a retreat center, run by monks who live there, which offers free meditation and yoga.

And the artists are there, too: At Edgemere Market, you can peer through a locked door to catch a glimpse of the workshop of the German blacksmith Norbert Kimmel. Large and rare metal machines sit alongside detailed chandeliers and bovine structures that, when placed in the open air, operate like wind-chimes.

“There are all these undiscovered talents popping up in Arverne,” Mr. Loncke, the Smoothie Haven owner, said. “Like it’s the little lost New York.”

The post Sleepy Arverne Attracting Entrepreneurs to a Working-Class Beach Neighborhood appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

For decades, the Rockaways has been hyped to the hilt for its distinct summer scene, which has consistently appealed to throngs of sun-loving day trippers craving a bit of beachside revelry along the area’s 5½-mile boardwalk. Now the southwest Queens ’hood is seeing a surge in folks who call the Rockaways home year-round, thanks in part to a dedicated ferry, a robust surfing scene and a renaissance in food and the arts.

The surf culture was a huge draw for Marc Cefalu, 42, a project manager and fabricator who works in Park Slope. It was Brooklyn’s ever-surging rents, however, that helped sway his decision to leave Bed-Stuy last March after living there for more than 15 years. “Over time, the rents have gone up astronomically,” he says. “I figured I’m already halfway to the Rockaways, why don’t I just move there?”

These days, Cefalu has his sights firmly set on purchasing his own Rockaway crib, and in the meantime, pays $1,150/month — about what he paid in Bed-Stuy — for a cozy one-bedroom bungalow with a patio and outdoor space in Rockaway Park. While the commute to work is longer, and the winter season can be challenging for beach-town neophytes, Cefalu is satisfied with the change. “I live less than a five-minute walk from the beach,” he adds.

Others have mirrored Cefalu’s lead and traded in city abodes to call Rockaway home full-time.

For accomplished pastry chef Tracy Obolsky, the laid-back, edgy charisma of the Rockaways became the optimal urban outpost for two of her passions: baking and surfing.

Formerly a Fort Greene denizen for nearly two decades, Obolsky, 36, and her husband left the bustling borough in 2014 and relocated to the Rockaway’s Arverne — in the middle of nine neighborhoods that comprise the peninsula.

Easy access to the sandy playgrounds and the bliss of surfing at daybreak ahead of a grueling workday in downtown Manhattan was enough to get Obolsky mulling the transition from Brooklyn to the beach. Yet it was the palpable sense of another Rockaways resurgence not felt since before 2012’s Superstorm Sandy that sparked something more profound: the opportunity to open her own business in the seaside community she’s loved and visited since childhood.

Now, Obolsky rides her bike or skateboards the 25 blocks on the boardwalk to start her day at Rockaway Beach Bakery, the popular coffee and pastry noshery she opened on Rockaway Beach Boulevard. “We just celebrated our 2-year anniversary,” Obolsky beams.

According to longtime area real estate agent Robin Shapiro, there’s been a steady uptick in investors chomping at the bit to buy at the beach, and she doesn’t expect the demand to stall anytime soon. Though seasonal rentals have consistently been big business, it’s new condos and weekend-home retreats that are being swooped up in record time and often in all-cash deals. “If properties are priced right, they’ll sell in two seconds,” Shapiro says.

Two of Shapiro’s favorite properties currently on the market include a two-bedroom bungalow on Beach 25th Street in Far Rockaway for $259,000, and a four-bedroom house on 129th Street in Belle Harbor for $599,000, which includes a private backyard and two parking spaces.

Brokers also credit the scenic NYC Ferry route to Manhattan, with an increased 15 roundtrips to Wall Street’s Pier 11 daily starting May 20, to the ever-escalating interest in the peninsula. “For the same price as the subway, you can get to paradise in less than an hour with a drink in hand or your bike on board,” says Nicholas Compagnone, a Douglas Elliman agent. “The property value in Rockaway has nearly doubled, and it’s only continuing to grow.”

A one-bedroom in a new development that would have asked around $215,000 a few years ago, Compagnone adds, is now going for $350,400.

To meet growing interest, several high-end projects have cropped up, including the 86-unit condo created by The Marcal Group at 147 Beach 116th St. Mere steps from the sand, the complex features a roof deck with ocean views, a fitness center and parking. A three-bedroom apartment is asking $1.07 million, while a one-bedroom is priced at $399,000.

The 126 luxury rentals at the Tides, a two-year-old apartment building at 190 Beach 69th St. are currently at 99 percent occupied (studios from $2,000, three bedrooms from $3,115). A second apartment building nearby at 6804 Tides Road is currently under construction at The Tides and set to open in the spring of 2020 with 93 units. According to Gerry Romski, senior project executive and general counsel for the complex, there’s already a wait list of more than 300 prospective renters.

And Compagnone is marketing a development site right on the water at 130 Beach 120th St., zoned for 50 condos, for $4.5 million.

For Romski, escaping the frenetic pace of the city is a no-brainer. “We have the same ocean as the Hamptons, but a better beach with surfing and a fabulous boardwalk that permits biking,” says Romski, who lives in Westchester but works in the Rockaways daily.

He is quick to add there’s a brand new 45,000-square-foot YMCA nearby, along with new restaurants, cafes, shops and more. For those that might want to test out living in the area before committing to a lease or mortgage, plenty of rooms are available for nightly stays, including at The High Tide, a hip compound of nine rooms on Rockaway Beach Boulevard (from $120/night). The spring of 2020 will bring the grand opening of the Rockaway Hotel, a six-story, 61-room boutique hotel from IGC Hospitality Group just two blocks from the ferry stop.

For those on the fence about a Rockaway relocation, it’s not all surfing and sand: the peninsula is becoming one to watch for fresh art and cultural happenings, too. Take nearby Fort Tilden, which serves as the hub for the Rockaway Theater Company and Rockaway Artists Alliance, the group behind last year’s lauded summer-specific MoMA PS1 installation.

This June, outdoor film screenings will kick off at Jacob Riis Park as a subtle ramp up to the Rockaway Film Festival in September. The festival was launched last year by Rockaway dwellers including festival founder and part-time resident Sam Fleischner, who, along with his wife Elsa and preschooler Lucien, splits time between an apartment in Brooklyn’s Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and a verdant plot of land in Rockaway Beach where they keep a greenhouse, vegetable gardens and a tiny grove of apple and peach trees, replete with a tree swing and fire pit.

For Fleischner, the opportunity to spotlight classic, lost and obscure films in the Rockaways was too good to pass up. “Our goal is to set up a space where we can show films throughout the year,” he adds.

Newcomers are “buying into what the promise of Rockaway is all about,” says Mark Healey, editor of local paper The Wave. Residents, he adds, display spirited resilience in the face of small challenges like long commutes and the chilly off-season — and bigger ones, too. “When Hurricane Sandy hit, there was so much destruction, and so many people lost their homes and businesses,” Healey says. “ It was really devastating, but the response to it was the kind of seed that created this reality that we’re in now. From darkness came light.”

The post Brooklyn Residents Fleeing High Rents Settle in the Beachy Rockaways appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

In today’s day and age, there is no longer a stigma when it comes to apartment, condo and townhouse living. Quite the opposite, actually. Michael Dubb is the CEO and founder of Beechwood Homes, a building organization that holds the title of Long Island’s largest homebuilder and developer of sophisticated lifestyle communities. The company, which includes Dubb and his son Steven, who serves as principal, is ranked at the forefront of privately owned residential homebuilders nationwide. But for Dubb, building a home is more than a place for people to live, it’s creating a lifestyle.

“It’s my job to acquire sites that I deem suitable for development in these residential communities where people can live and enjoy a terrific lifestyle,” said Dubb of his role. “We started out small with our first community, Spruce Pond in North Hills, in the mid 1980s. There were 69 townhomes on Shelter Rock Road on the corner of the L.I.E. and at that point, condo living was relatively new, but there was a tremendous demand for it.”

Dubb noticed that people wanted to leave their houses and move away from the responsibilities of homeownership. Recognizing that this way of life could be the future of housing on Long Island, he focused on the opportunity of gated communities and the security they offer.

“It becomes a social event; people make friends, they meet at the pool or play cards, have dinners and parties. It’s the fun and excitement of making friends when you come from a home after your kids are grown up,” said Dubb, noting that these communities include similar aged people with like-minded interests.

The townhouse living population is mainly comprised of the empty nester community, which according to Dubb, begins when people are in their mid to late 40s.

“Twenty five percent of the community could be people of all ages and 75 percent is 55 and older,” said Dubb of the residents, who are predominantly empty nesters for the most part. “Often I find when I talk to people, they are making lateral moves into a place that is the equivalent size of what they lived in or slightly smaller, but they are downsizing on the responsibilities of being a homeowner.”

Most Beechwood Homes units are designed for single living, but there are models with a master bedroom, living room, kitchen and dining room downstairs while upstairs is additional space for a bed or two and a den for when company comes. All of the properties also have basements for storage or extra space if needed.

As for the style of the homes, well-lit rooms with high ceiling heights and large glass windows lend a feeling of spaciousness and airiness. Each unit is customizable to a point where owners can choose from several different hardwood floors, granite countertops and cabinet colors. When it comes to appliances, the properties feature state-of-the-art appliances with Kohler fixtures throughout.

Within the Beechwood community, there are several high-end indoor and outdoor amenities offered such as swimming pools and hot tubs, lounges, bars, ballrooms, gyms, theaters, outdoor recreation areas, tennis courts and bocce ball courts.

So are you ready to move in? Dubb says that there is usually a supply of move-in ready units to occupy homes between one to four months out. If people have to move up their delivery dates or the closing of their prior home, then there is time to schedule new construction accordingly that would be ready in six months to a year. In most cases, Dubb can provide quickly for what fits the needs of the new residents.

Current communities have been in operation in Yaphank, Smithtown, Plainview and East Rockaway. A development in Huntington was recently completed and, according to Dubb, East Meadow is the next town to plan for.

Although Beechwood Homes is the largest builder and most established in building these types of communities on Long Island, the company has three decades under its tool belt, and that comes with a highly trained staff and loyal contractors who produce nothing but quality.

“Our clients know when they deal with us that they are getting a reputable, local builder that has been around for a long time,” said Dubb. “We have created fantastic lifestyles for thousands of people around the island.”

The post Beechwood Homes Creates New Lifestyles For Residents with Townhouse Living appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

If you’ve driven by the new Country Pointe Plainview mixed-use development lately, you’ve likely seen more foot traffic as the residential and retail project takes shape.

Most of the space in the $45 million retail portion of the development now has been accounted for, as several businesses have signed leases to open by spring at the site on Old Country Road near the intersection with Round Swamp Road.

The retail space is already anchored by a 70,000-square-foot ShopRite. Other existing tenants include a Chase Bank, Trio Hardware store and Starbucks. SLT, a fitness studio, opened Oct. 10.

Here’s what’s on deck in Country Pointe Plainview:

• Anthony DeFranco Salon and Spa is set to open in mid-December.

• Sugar Crazy, an ice cream, cupcake and candy shop; Iavarone Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria; and Fidelity Investments all will open locations in early 2019.

• Organic Krush, which sells smoothies, wraps and hot dishes, will open in spring 2019.

I got the rundown from Steven Dubb, principal at the Beechwood Organization, the Jericho-based developer of Country Pointe Plainview.

Started under construction in early 2017, the project is the largest mixed-use development in Nassau County, Dubb said.

The 143-acre development will have 118,450 square feet of retail space and 1.5 million square feet of residential space spread across 750 apartment- and townhouse-style condos, mostly for residents at least 55 years old.

“It’s a mixed-use community, and we looked at the retail leasing and the tenants that we brought here from the point of view of providing amenities to our home buyers, so we wanted them to be able to walk right down to the retail and hang out there,” Dubb said.

The retail space, which will be fully constructed by mid-2019, is 90 percent leased, Dubb said.

The residential portion will be finished in two to three years. “We have a little more than half sold; half is constructed in the residential,” he said.

The retail and residential sections are connected by a walking path.

“We really wanted it to be a neighborhood that’s self-contained within the larger Plainview neighborhood,” said Dubb, who declined to disclose the cost of the entire development.

Many Long Islanders are familiar with Iavarone Bros., which was founded in 1927 and has four markets in New Hyde Park, Maspeth, Wantagh and Woodbury selling international and gourmet foods and specializing in Italian fare. In 1996 the company opened a restaurant, Iavarone Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria, adjacent to the New Hyde Park market.

Now the family-owned business plans to open its second restaurant, in Country Pointe Plainview, in a 6,000-square-foot space, more than twice the size of the New Hyde Park eatery, said David Vitale, restaurant general manager.

“We stress quality. That’s what we’re all about — quality and service,” he said.

Organic Krush will open in 2,500 square feet.

Founded by Long Island natives Michelle Walrath and Fran Paniccia in 2015, Organic Krush has two locations in Woodbury and Amagansett. The eateries serve cold-pressed smoothies and juices; acai and pitaya bowls; wraps; and hot poultry, seafood and beef dishes — and all products are organic.

“Everything we do is house-made, and everything is made to order,” said Meredith Dresner, manager of the Woodbury location.

Fitness studio SLT, which stands for “strengthen, lengthen, tone,” occupies 1,700 square feet. It’s the newest of 25 locations — and the second on Long Island — for the Manhattan based-chain.

SLT offers 50-minute, Pilates-based classes in which participants use machines that create resistance to build muscle, said Jocelyn Levy, spokeswoman for SLT.

“So essentially all the moves are very slow as opposed to your traditional workout classes, which are all about moving fast, burning calories and getting out of breath,” she said.

There are 11 machines in each class and four to five classes, at $36 each, are offered daily.

Anthony DeFranco Salon and Spa, which has a location in Huntington Station, and Sugar Crazy did not return calls for comment.

But the salon posted on Facebook on Thursday that the Plainview location will be an additional salon, as opposed to a relocation.

The post Check Out the Retailers at Country Pointe Plainview appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The post The Vanderbilt Featured in Luxe Living appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

If you follow New York racing, Dubb’s name is familiar. He’s been the leading owner in New York six times in the last eight years, and he’s led all owners for the Saratoga meeting for the last three years. Running horses at every level from claimers to Grade 1 races, he seldom declines a chance to talk about his runners, his knowledge of the business both broad and deep, and he is frequently in attendance at all three New York Racing Association tracks, as enthusiastic freezing at Aqueduct as he is summering in Saratoga.

Well-known on Long Island for his development business The Beechwood Organization, Dubb takes a low-key role in one of endeavors to which he is most dedicated, and that is the welfare of New York’s backstretch workers. Around the turn of the last century, he was one of the driving forces behind the Belmont Child Care Association, donating labor and materials to build Anna House, the child care and early childhood education center on the backstretch at Belmont Park. Dismayed to learn that some backstretch employees left their children in their cars during early morning shifts, Dubb galvanized support around the initiative, and 16 years after opening its doors, Anna House has expanded its programming to include after-school activities for older children, tutoring services, and programs for parents. Dubb continues to serve as the chair of the BCCA board, and he leads by both word and deed, frequently visiting Anna House and presiding over its graduation ceremony.

On the board of directors of the New York Racing Association, he is the most vocal advocate for upgrading backstretch residential facilities, offering his building expertise and urging celerity to improve the living conditions of people who take care of the horses; he says that he “constantly” talks to Glen Kozak, NYRA’s vice president of facilities and racing surfaces, about the conditions on the backside.

He supports the work of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy, sponsoring the annual jockeys vs. horsemen basketball game in Saratoga, and he works closely with Nick Caras, the Chaplaincy’s program director. And while he never seeks a spotlight for his generosity, he never passes up an opportunity to encourage other people in the racing industry to step up.

At one of the luxury housing communities he built on Long Island, he included in the offering plan the requirement that the club house be shut down one day a year, so that children of backstretch workers could hang out at the pool and the movie theater.

Later this month, Dubb will take the podium at the annual Belmont Child Care Association fundraiser, scheduled this year for August 22 at Saratoga National Golf Club. He’ll talk about the work of grooms and hotwalkers, and he’ll talk about Anna House success stories, the children who enter kindergarten equally at home in Spanish and in English, the older kids who have gone on to college, the families who watch their children achieve one version of the American dream, including the man Dubb hired five years ago, after the Anna House alumnus earned his degree at St. John’s University.

With Monomoy Girl’s win on Sunday, her fourth straight in a Grade 1 race, her fifth this year; her 2018 record is perfect, and she may well be a lock for champion three-year-old filly. But even if he and his partners get to accept an Eclipse Award next January, that achievement might well pale in comparison to what he’s accomplished for backstretch workers.

“I want,” said Dubb in a conversation last month, “to make a difference.”

The post Michael Dubb Makes a Difference On and Off the Track appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

More than 7,000 homes across New York have been built under the leadership of Michael Dubb. Entering 2018, his real estate firm Beechwood Homes had 3.9 million square feet of luxury developments in progress across Long Island. Yet his most treasured construction is a humble building on the backstretch of Belmont racetrack, one that could fit inside the clubhouse of his recently opened Vanderbilt apartment building in Westbury.

Dubb has adored horseracing since he was a teen, finding the experience of going to the track to be “good therapy because it got my mind off of everything else.” The passion continued into adulthood, and when he found himself in a conversation with friend and world-class jockey Jerry Bailey, he discovered a way to give back to both his community and the sport he loves.

“[Bailey] mentioned that at the racetrack, the children of people who take care of horses had nowhere to go in the morning. The care of horses starts at about 5am and typically ends around 11 or 12 and then there’s more work in the afternoon with the actual races. But the people who take care of horses don’t make a lot of money, so their children were either sleeping in cars while their parents were working or left in apartments being watched by siblings. Jerry commented that the right thing to do would be to have a daycare center.”

There was no one on Long Island more qualified to build it than Dubb, so that’s what he did, donating time, resources and anything else needed to construct a daycare center on the Belmont Park grounds. “We selected a site, and at the time the underlying zone was residential. I had to go to the town of Hempstead and get a change of zone, that took about 18 months. I remember getting it in March, and we had the daycare center built in seven weeks because I wanted it in time for Belmont Stakes in June. I wanted the racing world to see it and embrace it.”

The Anna House, named for the daughter of major donor Eugene Melnyk, and owned and operated by the Belmont Child Care Association, officially opened its doors to students on Jan 1, 2003. Specifically designed around racetrack life, the center opens at 5am and serves approximately 70 children per day starting as young as six weeks old. Students learn everything from reading to gardening. But, as most are Hispanic, the most critical skill they’re taught is English. “What would happen normally if these kids didn’t have this foundation is they would go into public school and they would be a liability. They wouldn’t mix very well, language would be a problem. Now when these kids go into the public-school system they are at the top of the class and they thrive and they’re an asset.”

Because of the positive results, Anna House has expanded its operations to include after-school programs for teenagers and even English language classes for adults. Yet the same problems that gave rise to the Anna House at Belmont are present at racetracks across the country, so the developer in Dubb—who remains involved as board chairman of Belmont Child Care Association—has expansion plans that include building a similar center in Saratoga.

This month, as the world’s eyes fall upon the Belmont finish line, Dubb will enjoy another celebration not far away: Anna House’s annual graduation ceremony.

The post Anna House: A Daycare Center on the Belmont Park Grounds appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Dan Naftol has been shopping at Trio Hardware in Plainview for 30 years, dropping in once or twice a week to buy nuts and bolts, tools or replacement parts for his home’s electrical and plumbing systems.

So when Trio’s owners asked for volunteers to help them move the contents of the 55-year-old store to a new location about a mile up Old Country Road, Naftol said he jumped at the chance.

“They’ve been historically so good to the community,” Naftol, 56, of Plainview said at the new shop Saturday, where dozens of volunteers unpacked crates and arranged goods on shelves.

“We want to give back,” he said.

More than 100 longtime Trio customers, employees, family and friends are spending the weekend loading up the more than 60,000 valves, bulbs, drill bits and other items in stock at the family-owned hardware store, and unpacking them in the new shop in a shopping center under construction south of the Long Island Expressway.

Owners Todd and Ritsa Kirschner say the move to the 6,000-square-foot space — twice the size of its predecessor — represents a win for small business in an era when stores like theirs often struggle to compete with corporate chains and online retailers.

“We are probably one of the longest-running businesses in Plainview that’s still around,” said Todd Kirschner, 43, who, like his wife, began working at the store as a high school student.

“We breathe and bleed hardware,” said Ritsa Kirschner, 48. “It is not just a business.”

The Kirschners, of East Northport, began their careers at the store stocking shelves and climbed the ranks to become managers. They fell in love at the shop, married in 2004, and in 2017 purchased it from the prior owners, the Carlow family, which started the business in 1963.

“That was our legacy,” prior owner Francesca Carlow, 63, said Saturday as she watched the new shop take shape. “This is their legacy. This is their future,” she said.

“Most downtowns don’t have hardware stores any longer,” said Carlow, noting the dominance of big-box chains like Home Depot and online marketplaces such as Amazon.

All the more reason to patronize community fixtures such as Trio, said Marie Prodana, 64, the store’s housewares manager, one of many employees who has worked there for decades.

“If you lose the small mom-and-pop stores, you take away from the character of the community,” she said, as she hung vinyl shower liners on a display hook.

“When people shop in their own community and support local stores, they’re helping everybody,” she said.

The Kirschners said they hope to be open for business again on Monday.

The post A community helps treasured Plainview hardware store make move appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Apartments at The Vanderbilt, a luxury rental complex opening this month in Westbury with monthly rents topping out at $8,000, are more than 50 percent leased, the developer said.

Steven Dubb, principal at the Beechwood Organization, said tenants can start moving in next week at the $120 million, 195-unit development, a combination high-end apartment building and extended-stay hotel.

The rents are among the highest on the Island, starting at $3,500 for an 880-square-foot one-bedroom and rising to $8,000 for a 1,700-square-foot two-bedroom penthouse with den. Short-term stays will cost a minimum of $4,800 for one month, although shorter stays can be negotiated.

Amenities include a 24-hour concierge, a 24-hour grab-and-go cafe, library, billiards and game room, children’s playroom, dog park, outdoor swimming pool and bar.

Residents and short-stay guests will have access to on-site personal training, physical therapy, yoga classes and massages in the building’s fitness studio.

And come April, they’ll be able to dine at Kingfish, a 5,000-square-foot Tom Schaudel restaurant, which will be open to the public.

Dubb said comments he received about Beechwood’s 720-unit luxury condo complex, Meadowbrook Pointe, also in Westbury, were “the spark” to develop The Vanderbilt.

“People didn’t want to buy and kept asking us to rent,” he said Wednesday.

Dubb said that while tenants at the Vanderbilt “include a mix of millennials and Gen-Xers,” many are Baby Boomers.

“Baby Boomers have spent their whole lives accumulating wealth, and now they want to live well,” he said. “They don’t want to worry about snow removal, or garbage removal, or any of the maintenance that comes along with taking care of a home.”

Peter Villani, 67, a retiree who’s lived in Manhattan for the past two years, said he’s moving to a $3,850-a-month, one-bedroom apartment with his wife, Leslie, and their 5 1⁄2-pound Yorkie, Macie, in July.

“We checked out a few rentals on Long Island,” said Villani, who said he and his wife have three adult children.

“But The Vanderbilt was a no-brainer. We really liked the quality of the finishes, the stainless-steel appliances. It’s all-in-one. And there’s going to be a top-notch restaurant downstairs, so we can just walk down and grab dinner rather than cooking.”

Pankti Patel, a 32-year-old surgeon, said moving to The Vanderbilt was ideal because it’s close to three of the four Long Island hospitals where she works.

“The Westbury train station is eight minutes away, and the LIE is nearby too, so it’s very convenient,” she said.

“Plus, it’s very modern and luxurious and has so many wonderful amenities, so even though it’s a little on the expensive side, I think it’s a bang for the buck.”

Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, said he sees a “clear need” for new housing on Long Island — on both ends of the economic spectrum.

“We need affordable housing for millennials and others who can’t afford the median home prices and rents on Long Island,” Levy said. “But we also need higher-end, highly amenitized housing for Baby Boomers. Not everybody wants to move to Boca Raton year-round.”

Levy, who said he raised his own children in a home in Dix Hills and now lives in an apartment in downtown Rockville Centre, said rentals such as The Vanderbilt are attractive options for empty-nesters who are downsizing.

“They want to stay in the communities where they raised their kids, they’re interested in luxury properties and want all the amenities that come with them,” he said. “There’s definitely a market for this.”

The post Luxury Westbury Apartment Complex, The Vanderbilt, is 50% leased appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

In a departure from its familiar for-sale multifamily communities, the Beechwood Organization debuts a unique $120 million rental development this month.

The Vanderbilt, billed as Long Island’s first combination luxury apartment and extended-stay hotel project, brings 178 high-end rental residences and 17 hotel suites to a 4.8-acre site next to Beechwood’s sprawling 720-home Meadowbrook Pointe condo complex in Westbury. Featuring a mix of one and two bedroom residences, The Vanderbilt’s apartments range in size from 880 to 2,100 square feet. Monthly rents start at $3,500 and climb to $8,000 for a two-bedroom penthouse. The hotel suites, complete with kitchenettes, marble bathrooms and 14-foot ceilings, start at $4,800 a month and the minimum stay is 30 days.

Both hotel guests and residents at the six-story Vanderbilt share a plethora of amenities, not the least of which will be a new 5,000-square-foot Tom Schaudel restaurant off the lobby called Kingfish that’s slated to open in April.

In addition, residents and guests will find a library, billiards and game room, two conference rooms, children’s playroom, a grab-and-go cafe, outdoor swimming pool, doorman and front desk. The Vanderbilt’s fitness center offers on-site personal training and physical therapy.

The Vanderbilt isn’t the first rental product for Jericho-based Beechwood. The company developed nearly 500 apartments in the outer boroughs of New York City in the early 2000s which it eventually sold. But the Westbury development is Beechwood’s first rental project on Long Island.

“We had Meadowbrook Pointe and a lot of inquiries about renting units there,” said Beechwood principal Steven Dubb.

“That was the spark. We thought we should build a similar product as a rental. Economies of scale allowed us to use upgraded finishes that you wouldn’t normally see in high-end multifamily communities on Long Island.”

The expected natural hardwood flooring and kitchen cabinetry, quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances are all part of The Vanderbilt’s rental residences, but there are other touches, such as the woven wool carpeting imported from Ireland, that set it apart from other high-end products.

A custom Siberian marble medallion is perched at the center of The Vanderbilt’s 22-foot high rotunda lobby. There’s a double-sided Travertine stone fireplace that highlights the building’s entryway and serves as a focal point for the library, adorned with leather-tiled walls.

Common areas feature original paintings from local artists and photos by Andrew Blauschild, who has lensed beach scenes and surfers on the East End. There is also art and curiosities that reflect Long Island’s motor racing history. In fact, The Vanderbilt’s name is a nod to the early 20th century Vanderbilt Cup auto races once held at nearby sites.

“We pulled a lot of inspiration from the automobile and vintage equipment,” said Abby Bullard, an associate interior designer with Manhattan-based Stonehill Taylor, which designed The Vanderbilt’s interior spaces. “We layered those elements into a modern classic interior design shell.”

Bullard, who has worked on high-end boutique hotels in Manhattan like The Refinery and The Renwick, says The Vanderbilt’s finishes are similar to pricey residential properties found in the city.

“It is definitely equally compatible with some of the high-rise condo buildings in New York City I’ve worked on that sell for $2 million and up,” Bullard said.

Beechwood began The Vanderbilt project in Dec. 2015 after getting approvals from the Town of Hempstead. The company is building a soccer field on 3.2 acres of adjacent property that’s been dedicated to the town as part of the development’s community benefit package.

Though not age-restricted, Dubb says the target market for the Westbury project are wealthier empty nesters “who live on Long Island and don’t want to be tied down to a home.”

Meanwhile, move-ins at The Vanderbilt begin this month and the development is already nearly half leased, Dubb says, adding that he expects the building to be fully leased by the summer.

“We’ve tapped into a vein here,” he said. “There’s nothing comparable to this product on Long Island.”

The post The Vanderbilt: Luxury Apartment and Extended-Stay Hotel appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Developed as a place to raise a family, Long Island — like many other suburban areas that grew and thrived in post-World War II America — is graying.

While new communities on the island were built for baby boomers back when they were babies, the latest wave of new development — country club-style living in communities for people 55 and older — hopes to help ease them into their retirement years and beyond.

Age-restricted housing has been around for decades, but until recently “there hadn’t been that focus on creating a lifestyle for aging baby boomers,” said Michael Dubb, founder and chief executive of Beechwood Homes. Many of these suburban homeowners are now empty nesters who no longer need a big house, don’t want to deal with landscaping or snow removal, and want to live with others who are at the same stage in their lives, he said.

Having sold out the 720-unit Meadowbrook Pointe at Westbury earlier this year, Mr. Dubb is now building three more resort-like “active adult lifestyle communities.” The largest, Country Pointe Plainview, will have 750 age-restricted condo flats and townhomes with first-floor master bedrooms.

Prices at the gated community range from $650,000 to $1.3 million. In less than a year, 215 out of 230 units in the first phase sold off floor plans and computer renderings before construction had even started, said Steven Dubb, a principal. The 80-acre property includes an adjacent shopping center, an amenity-laden clubhouse, two heated pools, tennis courts and a walking trail.

Just don’t call it a retirement community. “People are going there to feel young and act young,” Mr. Dubb said.

If you stay in the neighborhood where you raised your children, he said, “young people move in and you are the old people next door.” By contrast, in these new age-restricted developments, “you are not the old people next door — everybody is running around with an iPhone full of pictures of their grandchildren.”

Age is not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, and most municipalities allow exclusive communities for older adults because of the recognized need for senior housing programs. The federal Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 set a requirement that at least 80 percent of the units in an age-restricted community have at least one person who is 55 years or older, and requires the community to publish and adhere to certain policies.

With many baby boomers now in their 60s and 70s, the swell in senior housing “is happening everywhere in the region,” as many older adults move from single-family houses into multifamily developments, said Christopher Jones, senior vice president and chief planner for the Regional Plan Association, a Manhattan-based think tank. “It is happening nationwide.”

But more people on Long Island seem to be choosing to age in place than in other parts of the region. Since 2000, the number of people over 65 has increased by 34 percent on Long Island, compared with between 20 and 28 percent elsewhere in the region, Mr. Jones said.

By 2019, according to the National Association of Home Builders, households headed by someone 55 or older will constitute more than 45 percent of all American households. And developers nationwide hope to appeal to those graying boomers as they downsize.

Mitchell H. Pally, chief executive officer of the Long Island Builders Institute, said taxes for buyers in age-restricted communities are lower than they would be for those buying a single-family home.

The niche market “has exploded” for both sales and rentals developments, Mr. Pally said, estimating that 4,000 to 5,000 age-restricted units have been built on Long Island in the last five years.

For the last 30 years, John and Helene Cranmer, both 67, lived in a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath ranch with a pool on about half an acre in Smithtown. Wanting to make a “life change,” they put a deposit on a $550,000 three-bedroom townhouse with a basement and a two-car garage at Country Pointe Meadows at Yaphank, a 55-and-older community being built by Beechwood Homes. The condo community will have 20 flats and townhouses priced from $469,000 to $574,000.

“We will be cutting our taxes by more than half,” said Mr. Cranmer, who worked in New York City’s Department of Finance. “It offers us comparable living space at a much more affordable cost of living.” They expect to move next September.

In the meantime, they are slowly weeding through “30 years of stuff” and planning a garage sale, said Mrs. Cranmer, a former systems programmer. Looking forward to card games, mah-jongg and pizza night with new neighbors, they are feeling more secure about the future. “If something happens to one of us, the other won’t have to rush to make an extreme lifestyle change,” Mrs. Cranmer said.

With life expectancy rising, assisted living facilities catering to octogenarians and beyond are also popping up. While 55-and-older communities offer independent living for active adults of a certain age, assisted living is for those who don’t need nursing care, but who can no longer manage completely on their own and need help with things like meal preparation, getting dressed, taking medications and social activities.

The post The Beechwood Organization Develops Resort Living for Graying Boomers appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The Beechwood Organization, the leading builder of residential homes on Long Island and one of the largest in New York State, was honored by the Long Island Builders Institute on November 8, 2017 with six awards for outstanding achievement in the development and construction of housing on Long Island.

These include the top LIBI honor, a Double Diamond Award, for three developments:

*Country Pointe Plainview as Residential Community of the Year – the largest residential lifestyle community in Nassau County. The 143-acre multi-use neighborhood features 750 new condominium homes primarily for 55+ active adults; a 29,000+-square foot clubhouse; 118,450-square-feet of retail space including a 68,000-square-foot ShopRite; 57 acres to be dedicated to the Town of Oyster Bay for public recreation; and a two-mile walking trail connecting to Trail View State Park.

*Marina Pointe East Rockaway in the Upscale Multi-Family Condominium category – the thoughtfully designed Smart Growth development of 84 waterfront homes offers an unparalleled blend of luxury and convenience for all ages with a 40-minute ride to NYC.

*The Vanderbilt in Westbury in the Market Rate 101+ Unit Rental category – the 195-unit luxury apartment building and hotel meets the region’s demand for an alternative to home ownership and graciously designed hotel suites with a new amenities-enriched way to live and stay on Long Island and in central Nassau County.

Diamond Awards were given to two developments:

*Country Pointe Plainview in the Active Adult Condominium Luxury category – also LIBI Community of the Year, the 750-unit residential community meets the demand for those 55 years and better who want to transition from traditional family home ownership to a more carefree and maintenance-free lifestyle in a way that allows them to live near family and friends, stay active and make new friends. There will be a 24/7 fully attended gatehouse, a 29,000+-square-foot clubhouse, two outdoor swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis and bocce ball courts; and convenient retail plaza, The Shops at Country Pointe Plainview.

*Country Pointe Estates Ridge in the Single-Family Detached Moderate category – the collection of 94 classic ranch and two story estate homes offers state-of-the art design, an evergreen setting and the best new home value on Long Island bringing together signature Beechwood quality and bucolic Long Island.

Finally, a Gold Award was given to Country Pointe Meadows in Yaphank in the Active Adult Condominium Upscale category. The 400-unit adult community is the for sale residential component of The Boulevard (www.theboulevardny.com), a master planned community on the former site of Yaphank’s Parr Meadows Racetrack in Suffolk County’s Town of Brookhaven.

p>

“Recognition by LIBI and our peers is appreciated by everyone at Beechwood, our home-owners and renters, and the towns and villages we are a part. Building a better Long Island is at the heart of what we do. We are meeting new home demand across Nassau and Suffolk by Long Islanders at every stage of life whether they are downsizing or starting out with a young family,” says Michael Dubb, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Beechwood Organization.p>

“The awards are designed to honor the best of the best in the development and construction of housing with nominations being outstanding examples of why Long Island companies are the best in New York State,” said Mitchell H. Pally, Chief Executive, Long Island Builders Institute.

The trade group, formed in 1941, is an association of building industry professionals dedicated to meeting the current and future housing needs on Long Island in a way that improves the quality of life for communities and residents.

The post Beechwood Homes Honored with 2017 LIBI Awards by Long Island Builders Institute appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Long Island developers are making multimillion-dollar investments to protect new projects — waterfront and inland alike — from rising sea levels and the risk of major storms.

In Glen Cove, RXR Realty said it is raising the ground level of its 56-acre waterfront development, Garvies Point, by 6 to 10 feet. The effort required enough soil, sand and gravel to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It also is constructing $15 million steel and reinforced concrete bulkheads along the waterfront, and spending roughly $10 million on stormwater management and $5 million on generators to provide full power to all 569 condominiums if electricity gets knocked out.

These and other steps to make the property storm-resilient will add roughly $40 million to the $1 billion cost of the project, which in addition to the condos includes 541 rental apartments as well as a restaurant, shops, offices and parks, the Uniondale-based developer said.

In East Rockaway, the Beechwood Organization is elevating 84 new condos over parking spaces at its waterfront property, adding a new bulkhead, docks and oversized drainage systems, and placing all mechanical equipment on roofs. The 2.7-acre site was previously occupied by a marina that was devastated by superstorm Sandy in 2012. Jericho-based Beechwood said it spent roughly $5 million going beyond state building codes and local requirements to protect the property from storms.

Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities is raising the land near Manhasset Bay in Great Neck where it is constructing a 191-unit apartment building, elevating the structure over parking and installing utilities 16 feet high, at the top level of its garage, said Chris Capece, senior development director.

Tritec Real Estate Co. is elevating the 112 apartments in its Shipyard project in Port Jefferson over a parking garage and installing drainage pumps in the garage, even though the waterfront complex is located outside the designated flood plain, said Robert Kent, vice president and general counsel at the East Setauket-based company.

“In a post-superstorm Sandy Long Island, there is a heightened awareness of where the high-risk flood zones are,” said Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a builders’ trade group. “The 100-year flood storms are happening every 10 years now, and that means only the very forgetful or the high-stakes gamblers are building on the ground level today.”

Under state building codes and local laws, developers are required to protect buildings in high-risk flood zones by constructing strong foundations, elevating buildings and electrical systems and using storm-resistant materials, among other measures. But developers say they are going beyond those requirements.

The builders’ investments come as climate scientists report that sea levels have risen over the last century and are expected to continue rising. A study released last month by the Union of Concerned Scientists examined the U.S. coastline and found that by 2100 nearly 500 communities — including many along Long Island’s South Shore — could face “chronic flooding” so severe that residents could be displaced if communities do not take steps to protect themselves.

Global sea levels have risen by 7 to 8 inches since 1900, a team of scientists wrote in a 673-page draft government report dated June 28, The New York Times reported Monday. Sea levels are “very likely” to rise another 3 to 6 inches by 2030, due mainly to increasing temperatures and melting ice, and the effects could include more floods and major storms, the draft report found.

Some scientists and elected officials debate the extent, severity and causes of the changes.

But on Long Island, major developers and small-scale builders say they are responding to a growing incidence of routine floods, as well as major storms like Sandy.

In RXR’s Glen Cove complex, all residences will be located 18 to 22 feet above the level reached by a so-called 100-year storm — that is, a storm with a 1 percent chance of happening in a given year, the developer said. Even at RXR’s Ritz-Carlton development in North Hills — more than 2 miles from Manhasset Bay — the developer is girding for storms. Two tractor-trailer-sized generators can provide full power to the first 110 condominiums, and another three will be added as the complex grows to 230 units. The generators are expected to cost $3.5 million, said Joe Graziose, senior vice president at RXR.

RXR chief executive Scott Rechler was determined to make the Ritz-Carlton “Sandy-proof,” despite the added cost, since many buyers lived on the North Shore and lost power when Sandy hit, Graziose said.

Developers say their primary concern is protecting their own investments and those of prospective buyers.

“The last person you’re going to talk about being a tree-hugger is me,” Graziose said. “This is all about infrastructure. At the end of the day, you want to build something that’s going to last a long time.”

In East Rockaway, Beechwood said all residences will be almost 13 feet above the high-water mark from Sandy.

“The key is just to build higher,” said Steven Dubb, a principal with the company and son of its founder, Michael Dubb. “We want to make sure we can survive superstorm Sandy, or worse.”

In downtown Riverhead, the Community Development Corp. of Long Island and Conifer Realty are building 45 apartments that will be on the second floor or higher to protect them from floods, said Gwen O’Shea, chief executive of the Centereach development corporation. The electrical systems will be at least 2 feet above the height of a 100-year storm.

The same developers also are building 90 apartments in Copiague. At both complexes, builders are using materials designed to protect against floods and major storms, such as hurricane-resistant windows. Both complexes will rent to residents with low to moderate incomes.

“We have such a limited number of affordable housing options on Long Island that as we rehabilitate or develop new properties, doing so in a way that is resilient allows the investment to be that much more sustainable and long-term,” O’Shea said.

The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery contributed $4.55 million to the cost of the Riverhead project and $8.75 million for the apartments in Copiague. Those awards were part of a $79.2 million program to replace affordable housing throughout the state in areas hit by Sandy and other storms, an agency spokeswoman said.

Protecting new residences from storms “makes good economic and business sense and thoughtful social policy,” Lisa Bova-Hiatt, executive director of the recovery office, said in a statement.

Making homes storm-resilient by building strong foundations, elevating living spaces over garages, and in some cases installing elevators, can easily cost an extra $100,000 for a single-family home, said Anthony Rector, a builder and lifelong Long Beach resident who has constructed six new homes there since Sandy. However, such measures can add roughly $250,000 to the value of a property, he said. Protecting homes from storms also reduces flood insurance costs.

Rector said he elevated his own bayfront home over a garage after Sandy flooded it with 5 feet of water. “My living space is never going to be hit again, unless of course there’s something out there that we can’t foresee or control,” he said. “I love living on the water, and this is just part of the protocol.”

The recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists predicts that even under an optimistic scenario for rising sea levels, more than 10 percent of Long Beach could face routine floods — twice a month, on average — by the end of the century. If the ocean rises sharply, Long Island coastal communities from the Town of Hempstead to East Hampton would face routine inundation of one-tenth or more of their land, the group predicts.

Local climate scientists said large-scale studies, such as the one by the Union of Concerned Scientists, cannot account for characteristics of individual communities, such as flood-mitigation measures.

Nevertheless, those local experts said the recent study is based on solid scientific analysis. More detailed local data show that communities such as Long Beach and the Town of Hempstead “definitely have to be concerned about rising sea levels over the next 20 to 40 years,” said Larry Swanson, interim dean of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that on Long Island, sea levels have risen by 0.8 to 1.3 feet over the last century, said Nelson Vaz, coastal services team leader for the National Weather Service. A team of 300 experts guided by a 60-member federal advisory committee has concluded that a further rise of 1 to 4 feet in global sea levels is expected by 2100, but the increase in New York could be even greater, Vaz said.

The gradual rise in sea levels will lead to more damaging storms, since floodwaters will reach farther inland, said Jay Tanski, a coastal geologist with the New York Sea Grant program. And that will force more Long Island communities to adapt by elevating roads and buildings above the reach of floodwaters, as Freeport and other municipalities have already begun to do, he said.

On Long Island, developers and public officials alike said the Island already faces more frequent flooding and more needs to be done to protect residents.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) said he has worked with local governments seeking federal grants for storm mitigation and advocated for coastal and wetlands restoration projects that “will use the natural environment to reduce flooding, erosion and storm damage.”

In Long Beach, local officials have secured more than $200 million in state and federal funding to protect the city from flooding, said City Manager Jack Schnirman, a Democrat. City residents “are justifiably afraid,” Schnirman said.

Many builders say they are taking action to allay those fears.

“I’m not going to speak to global warming and things of that nature,” Graziose, 57, said. “[But] we’ve seen more storms in the last 25 years than we did when we were kids, so as a builder we’ve got to address them head on.”

The post Long Island Developers Investing Millions to Protect New Projects From Rising Sea Levels and the Risk of Major Storms. appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

The changing landscape of the Plainview-Old Bethpage area near Old Country and Round Swamp roads signals the impending arrival of Country Pointe Plainview, a sprawling project with age-specific housing, along with retail, a clubhouse, trails and more.

Grounds that once housed dilapidated county buildings now boast excavators and dump trucks as the Beechwood Organization’s 143-acre mixed-use development begins to take shape. Michael Dubb, Beechwood’s founder and CEO, said ground has broken and foundations will soon go in, making way for 660 market-rate units for 55-and-older residents and 90 “golden age” units for 62-and-over, with the remaining homes for adults of all ages.

“We have 175 units now in contract,” said Dubb, adding that these buyers had no model to view and no virtual reality tour before purchasing. “They basically bought the floor plan on a piece of paper. These people have been waiting for this for some time and our goal is to deliver these homes starting late 2017 through all of 2018.”

As Plainview is a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), Dubb said that Country Pointe will help seniors remain in the neighborhood as they age, without having to deal with remodeling bathrooms, raking leaves and shoveling snow.

“Our buyers want to get out of that big house—their children have moved on and they want to scale back,” said Dubb, who emphasized that around 50-75 percent of the purchases so far have been from Plainview residents. “They want to stay in the area and be close to family. A lot of them still have jobs, but the kids are grown.”

And according to Dubb, there is also a social aspect to what makes Country Pointe a popular option as illustrated in another Beechwood development in Westbury.

“They want the lifestyle. People come to these communities and they make new friends,” he said. “In Westbury, you’d be amazed at how many new friendships are made.”

One of the main social hubs of Country Pointe at Plainview will be its 24,000-square-foot clubhouse with two outdoor pools, a fitness center, cafe, card rooms and a ballroom. The community will also have tennis courts, 57 acres of land designated for parks, recreation and open space, as well as retail space within walking distance featuring a Super ShopRite and an expanded Trio Hardware—both relocated from cramped quarters in the Morton Village Shopping Center.

Dubb said that the goal is to open that ShopRite in the month of August, while Trio will operate a free-standing building that aims to open in early 2018. Dubb said that Beechwood also has leases out to Starbucks, Chase Manhattan Bank, an as-yet-unnamed top pizzeria and other smaller tenants.

“ShopRite has been a pillar of the Plainview community for 30 years,” said Dubb, adding that if Plainview had a mayor it would be owner John Greenfield. “He first became interested in this site 25 years ago, so this has been a much-discussed prospect.”

Meanwhile, the addition of Trio Hardware brings another robust Plainview business into the mix. Co-owners Todd and Ritsa Kirschner, who took full ownership of Trio this year from the Carlow family who ran the beloved store for 55 years, said their current location is filled to capacity, floor to ceiling, and it’s time to grow.

“The Beechwood Organization has made it possible for Trio to grow with the community, said Todd Kirschner. “The new Trio will be bigger, better, and as personal as ever.”

As construction continues and now picks up in earnest, Dubb said the Town of Oyster Bay has proved to be fine partners and that the town wants to accommodate residents who have waited so long for this community.

“Everyone understands that this will be an economic engine for the community,” he said. “It is going to be gorgeous and everyone we talk to is so anxious to move in.”

The post Country Pointe Project in Development in Plainview appeared first on Beechwood Homes.

Called Country Pointe Meadows, the development from Jericho-based Beechwood Organization is the for-sale housing component of The Boulevard, a planned mixed-use project on the 322-acre former site of Yaphank’s Parr Meadows Racetrack.

Country Pointe Meadows has 320 homes reserved for people aged 55 and over with another 80 homes to be sold to buyers of all ages. The single-level villas and townhomes start in the upper-$400,000s and range in size from 1,470 to more than 2,100 square feet and have one- and two-car garages. Occupancy at the condos are expected to begin in the spring of 2018.

Amenities at the development include an 11,000-square-foot clubhouse that incorporates a ballroom, caterer’s kitchen, card room, lounge with bar, fitness room, treatment room and concierge, two outdoor swimming pools plus tennis and bocce ball courts.

The Boulevard, developed by Rose-Breslin Associates, also features rental apartments, an assisted living facility, a hotel, restaurants and retail shopping center as part of the mix-used community.

“We are excited to be a part of this legacy development and breathe new life into these grounds,” Beechwood CEO Michael Dubb said in a company statement. “The principles underpinning The Boulevard are aligned with our own commitment to thoughtful land planning and design. Country Pointe Meadows offers Long Islanders of all ages condominium home ownership with resort style amenities in a smartly planned development with a convenient location to live, work and play.”

Off-site sales centers for Country Pointe Meadows are located at Country Pointe Estates Ridge at 3 Wildflower Drive in Ridge and at Country Pointe Plainview at 1427 Old Country Road in Plainview.

The post Sales Begin for New 400-Residence Condo Community in Yaphank appeared first on Beechwood Homes.