BRENTWOOD – Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy appeared before the Long Island Regional Planning Council today to outline his vision for a multi-faceted destination center on 250 acres of surplus land.

Levy is proposing to build hundreds of next-generation homes, commercial and retail establishments and recreational facilities on four tracts of county-owned land that are not necessary as part of its centralized complex for county agencies. These parcels will now be developed as part of a coordinated plan for county uses and services.

“This community will set a national standard for design and planning and become a landmark destination for living, working and playing on Long Island,” said Levy. “Our plan balances significant goals that include boosting the economy and providing home ownership for more than 1,000 of our residents who wish to stay here.”

Levy provided Legacy Village project highlights, including plans to construct both indoor and outdoor sports and entertainment venues. The county executive also described the 95-acre high-technology, light industry business incubator, supported by a 4-megawatt solar power generation plant, that would be located within the complex for companies involved in developing alternative energies and new technologies.

The county executive emphasized that all components of the planned development will be fully supported by sewers and that the development will be environmentally sensitive as a net-zero energy consumer.

Through a comprehensive and successive series of Requests for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) and Requests for Proposals (RFP), which were developed with community representatives, the county earlier this year selected Legacy Village Real Estate Group to develop the site. Legacy Village Real Estate Group is a joint venture of The Beechwood Organization and Katter Development Organization.

The Yaphank destination center initiative has received wide-spread support from housing advocates, organized labor groups, prominent real estate officials, and large employers including nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University have endorsed the residential community because of the need for housing its employees. Supporters of the plan point out that if the current trend continues, Long Island will be without a professional workforce in the very near future because recent college graduates or successful young adults earning $100,000 are being forced back into their parents’ homes, illegal basement apartments or into high priced rental complexes because they simply cannot afford to buy a home on Long Island.