Beechwood Bogs Down Plans in Kings Park

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The Beechwood Organization is not abandoning its plans for Kings Park, but it is cutting them down significantly.

The Long Island-based developer is pitching a 288-unit community for Country Pointe Estates at Kings Park in Suffolk County, Newsday reported. That’s a significant retrenchment from the 391-unit project proposed two years ago.

Michael Dubb’s firm capsized the unit count amid concerns from the community, which Dubb said was a voluntary decision. The $220 million project now comprises 53 single-family homes, 153 townhomes and 82 villas, 29 of which would be set aside for affordable housing.

The development is still set to unfold on a property at the corner of Old Northport and Lawrence roads, previously home to a concrete manufacturing and sand mining operation. It also complies with Smithtown’s Comprehensive Plan.

But opposition remains. The president of the Kings Park Community Association says the group remains concerned the development is too large and that the reduction in size will simply open the door for other developers to increase the size of their own adjacent projects. He added the project “provides no discernible benefits to the community.” Concerns also include the area’s environment, drinking water, traffic and schools.

Beechwood is building a wastewater sewage treatment plant in conjunction with the Country Pointe Estates. The development is still a long way off; Dubb is hoping to secure all approvals by 2027 and complete work on the development by 2030.

Kings Park is home to several sizable projects, creating concerns for some community members about overdevelopment. Smithtown is creating a comprehensive master plan for Kings Park’s downtown development.

Despite concerns about overdevelopment, there’s also a need to update the housing stock in the hamlet; the Country Pointe Estates project could increase the number of units in the hamlet by 4.4 percent alone, according to project consultants.

— Holden Walter-Warner