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A $44 million affordable housing project in Freeport will be getting economic incentives from the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development. 

Levittown-based D&F Development Group is planning to construct an 80-unit apartment building for lower-income renters aged 55 and over on .69 acres at 106 Broadway. The site is a little over two-thirds of the .98-acre property owned by the Refuge Apostolic Church of Christ, which is partnering on the project. 

The Hempstead IDA gave preliminary approval for economic incentives for the development, which has village approvals and will be receiving state tax credits. It is expected to generate about 30 construction jobs and two permanent ones. 

The planned five-story, 76,669-square-foot building will be called the Bishop Ronald H. Carter Manor in honor of the longtime leader of the church who died in Nov. 2022 at the age of 84. The existing church building will remain and continue to operate. 

The Freeport development will bring 75 one-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom apartments and an apartment for a superintendent. More than half of the units (48) in the income-restricted complex will be offered to renters earning no more than 50 percent of the area median income, while 23 of the one-bedroom units will be leased to people earning up to 60 percent of the AMI. The remaining eight apartments will be rented to people earning up to 30 percent of the AMI.  

The new building will have a community room, lounge and outdoor courtyard, as well as below-ground and ground-level parking for 94 cars. The project must undergo further IDA review, a public hearing, and a final authorizing resolution. 

“The village and the town are in dire need of quality rental housing, especially for seniors, and those in need of affordable rentals,” Fred Parola, Hempstead IDA CEO, said in a written statement. “These housing shortages are forcing residents to move away from Long Island.”