West Babylon senior apartment complex's new owner to spend $1.5 million on upgrades

Residents of an affordable senior housing community in West Babylon will get a host of improvements to their apartments, including new roofs and heating and air conditioning units, after the property was sold to a private equity firm for $29.5 million. 

Preservation Equity Fund Advisors LLC is planning $1.5 million in renovations over the next 10 years as part of its purchase of Belmont Villas. The community consists of eight, two-story buildings that were constructed in 2006-09 at 409 Wyandanch Ave., about a half-mile north of Belmont State Park.

California-based PEF Advisors will continue to restrict the 164 rental apartments to people age 55 and over whose annual income is 60% of the area median income or less. That equals $69,300 per year for one person and $79,200 for two people on Long Island, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Private dollars, tax breaks for renovations

Belmont Villas is among a handful of affordable senior housing communities on Long Island to receive an infusion of private dollars for renovations as part of a sale to a private company or a partnership between a company and a public housing authority.

In some cases, the new owner or partnership has sought tax breaks from industrial development agencies to help defray the cost of improvements and maintain affordable rents.

Ian Wilder, executive director of Long Island Housing Services, a fair housing agency that serves local residents, applauded the investments by private companies and IDAs, saying it's critical to maintain safe and affordable homes for seniors.

"If you don't create and maintain affordable housing, including for our seniors, you create unstable, unsafe housing because people have got to live somewhere. Nobody wants to live in a basement or an attic. But if they can't afford rent anywhere else, that's where they're going to live," he said Thursday.

Wilder added that it's less costly to keep up existing apartment buildings than construct new ones.

Among the affordable senior housing communities that have received IDA tax breaks in the past two years is a 75-unit complex in Great Neck, which is being renovated by developer Georgica Green Ventures and the Village of Great Neck Housing Authority, and the 80-unit Hardscrabble Apartments in Farmingdale, which is undergoing improvements by its new owner, K&R Preservation. Both projects were aided by the Nassau County IDA.

In the case of Belmont Villas, the Suffolk County IDA last month awarded a sales tax exemption of up to $77,500 on the purchase of construction materials and equipment for the planned upgrades to apartments and the grounds, and up to $6,500 off the mortgage recording tax.

The IDA also agreed to transfer the existing property tax savings plan to PEF Advisors. The plan lasts until 2043 and was adopted at the behest of the property’s former owner, Conifer Realty.

State records show Conifer saved a total of $1.6 million in property taxes between 2022 and 2024.

Suffolk IDA chief executive Kelly Murphy said the tax incentives "will ensure that upgrades will continue to be made [to Belmont Villas] and that it will remain affordable."

Apartments are 1,100 SF

Belmont Villas, which was built in an industrial section of Babylon Town, offers one-bedroom apartments averaging 1,100 square feet with a den. The apartments have patios or balconies and washers and dryers in each unit.

“We’re pleased to acquire a high-quality property from a respected developer, recapitalize it to address deferred maintenance, and ultimately preserve the affordability,” PEF Advisors president Ann Caruana said in announcing the deal last week. She estimated that Belmont Villas is 99% occupied.

In addition to the apartment upgrades, the community’s clubhouse, leasing office and gym will receive a new coat of paint and flooring. It's unclear whether residents will have to move while the work is going on.

Representatives of PEF Advisors and Conifer didn't respond to requests for comment this week.

Belmont Villas appears to be PEF Advisors’ first investment on Long Island. The company has properties in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state, according to the application for IDA assistance.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.