53-home transit-oriented community brings affordable and workforce apartments, ground-floor commercial space, and supportive housing to the Village’s Uptown redevelopment district
PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y., August 27, 2026 — Conifer Realty, LLC, a nationally ranked leader in high-quality, affordable housing, together with Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDLI), today broke ground on Perry & Main, a 53-home affordable and workforce housing community in the heart of Port Jefferson’s Uptown redevelopment district.
Located at 1601 and 1605 Main Street, one block from the Port Jefferson Long Island Railroad station, Perry & Main replaces two long-vacant, blighted buildings with a new three-story, transit-oriented community that includes 53 apartments and approximately 2,298 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The development advances the goals of the Village of Port Jefferson’s Urban Renewal Plan and its 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update, both of which call for mixed-use development along Main Street and adjacent to the LIRR station.
The development’s name references the intersection on which the new community will be built — Perry Street and Main Street. It also pays homage to Mr. Marvin B. Perry and Perry Plumbing Shop, for whom Perry Street was named.
Perry & Main completes the transformation of the block directly adjacent to Port Jefferson Crossing, the affordable apartment community Conifer and CDLI opened in 2023. Port Jefferson Crossing currently maintains a waiting list of more than 800 applicants — a clear measure of the need for affordable homes on Long Island.
The event brought together state, county, town, village, and project partners, including Alexa Sewell, senior vice president of multifamily development, New York State Homes and Community Renewal; Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow; Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Daniel Panico; James Dittbrenner, regional market president, Webster Bank; and Gwen O’Shea, president and chief executive officer, Community Development Corporation of Long Island. Leaders from Regions Affordable Housing, Conifer Realty and Conifer-LeChase Construction also took part in the ceremony.
"Perry & Main is the kind of development Long Island needs more of — transforming underutilized, vacant buildings into thriving residential and commercial spaces," said Lisa Kaseman, Conifer's SVP, Development for NY. "The Village of Port Jefferson has been an outstanding partner from day one. Our existing Port Jefferson Crossing apartments within the Village have a waiting list of more than 800 households, underscoring the critical need for affordable homes in this community. Every one of those applications represents a person or family who wants to live in Port Jefferson and can't find a home they can afford — young people who grew up here, seniors who don't want to leave. Perry & Main won't solve that on its own, but 53 families will have a home because of the collective efforts of our state and local partners."
Gwen O’Shea, President & CEO, Community Development Corporation of Long Island, noted: “At CDLI, we believe the one place that creates the greatest stability for all people is home. Perry & Main brings that vision to life by blending family, workforce and supportive housing in the walkable and transit-oriented community of Port Jefferson. Strong communities are places where people of different incomes, ages, backgrounds and abilities all have stable housing and we are incredibly proud this community is making that a reality.”
Perry & Main will offer 33 one-bedroom and 20 two-bedroom apartments — including one on-site superintendent’s unit — serving households earning 30%, 50%, 60%, and 80% of the Area Median Income. The community will remain affordable for at least 50 years.
Five apartments will carry a preference for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD), supported by an operating funding commitment from the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. Advancing Community Development Solutions (ACDS) will provide housing-related support services to those residents. Five additional apartments will carry a preference for veterans. All residential units are ADA compliant, with six units fully adapted for residents with mobility impairments and two adapted for residents with hearing or vision impairments.
The blend of family, workforce, and supportive housing is designed to create a genuinely integrated community — one where residents of all abilities live alongside one another with access to the services they need.
The 61,898-square-foot elevator building will include a 59-space residential parking garage at the cellar level with four EV charging stations, plus a lobby, mail room, fitness room, laundry facilities, and commercial space on the ground floor. A third-floor community room will offer scenic views, complemented by outdoor open space and broadband internet in every apartment.
The all-electric building will be heated and cooled by high-efficiency air-source heat pumps, with semi-central energy recovery ventilators for fresh air and a demand- and temperature-controlled central heat pump domestic hot water system. Insulation levels exceed code, and Energy Star appliances will be installed in every unit. Perry & Main will certify to EPA Indoor airPLUS, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, and Enterprise Green Communities 2020 Plus.
Perry & Main is financed through a layered public-private structure. New York State Homes and Community Renewal awarded 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, along with subsidy financing through the Housing Trust Fund Program and Community Investment Funds. Empire State Development committed funding through the Long Island Investment Fund, and the Village of Port Jefferson committed $2 million in Restore NY funding to the project. The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities is providing operating funding for the five apartments set aside for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Webster Bank is providing construction financing, Regions Affordable Housing, LLC — an affiliate of Regions Bank — is providing tax credit equity, and the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency approved a 30-year PILOT. Webster Bank will provide construction financing.
Conifer-LeChase Construction, LLC is the general contractor, and Conifer Management, LLC will manage the community. Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months, with first residents anticipated in 2028.
Perry & Main sits within walking distance of Port Jefferson’s historic downtown and the Long Island Sound, and close to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, St. Charles Hospital, Stony Brook University, and Suffolk County Transit bus service — putting jobs, health care, education, and transit within easy reach of residents.
For more information about Perry & Main or to inquire about future availability, please visit www.coniferllc.com.
Editor Note: Renderings and images of the groundbreaking event are available on the Conifer Newsroom