Town advisory panel backs $3.68 million in housing grants and loans; $1M ask for nearly‑completed project draws scrutiny

East Hampton housing staff and the Community Housing Advisory Board (CHAB) presented recommendations Dec. 3 to allocate roughly $3.68 million from the town’s Community Housing Fund for five projects after reviewing seven applications. CHAB’s prioritized list would fund a mix of grants and one loan and leave one request unselected and one deemed ineligible.

CHAB chair Andrew Garvey and Housing Director Eric Shantz said the fund—about $10 million—should prioritize projects that yield the most affordable units per dollar, favor loans to recycle funds and rely on strict oversight and legal agreements before any disbursement. The board will schedule public hearings and require environmental reviews before releasing funds.

Top recommendations include a $1,500,000 award for a 50‑unit Route 114 rental project aimed at households up to 130% of area median income, which CHAB said would reserve at least 75% of units at that level if the funding is provided. Shantz said the town will require detailed conditions in any agreement and that applicants must reapply for future years’ funding.

CHAB also recommended a $345,000 grant for Whalebone Apartments to address critical rehabilitation and energy upgrades and a $338,000 loan to Windmill for planning and soft costs to add roughly 20 senior units.

A contentious request drew particular scrutiny: Georgia Green Ventures and the East Hampton Housing Authority asked for a $1,000,000 grant to cover a financing shortfall at the Green at Gardner’s Point, a largely completed 51‑unit project. Caller David Duda and several board members said the application appears to fund a completed project and questioned whether the request fits the CHF eligibility rules. Shantz responded that the funds would help close a shortfall caused by post‑COVID interest‑rate increases and that the town could impose conditions on any award, including restricting funds to soft‑cost uses and requiring documentation and oversight.

"The CHAB has strong support for this affordable housing project… but the Town Board may want to consider policies regarding such requests," CHAB wrote in its letter to the board, which the town will advance to public hearings and legal review.

CHAB recommended one project as ineligible—a proposed workforce housing project lacking an income cap—and declined to fund a small manager’s‑apartment addition for a senior development because it would not create or preserve affordable units. CHAB said it will revise the RFA process for 2025, aim to favor loans over grants and encourage applicants to seek matching state or federal funding.

Next steps: Town staff will post individual public hearings for each CHAB recommendation (Shantz indicated hearings could be scheduled Dec. 19), perform any necessary environmental review, and return with proposed resolutions and grant/loan agreements for board action.

"We have to be very strict about what the money can be used for," Shantz said, and the town will not release funds until documentation of expenditures and compliance is approved.