08/04/08 Affordable-housing project takes shape in Port Chester

The thick, marshy forest that once stood at the end of Alto Avenue has disappeared as silhouettes of new homes rise in its place.

By next year, 35 single-family townhouses will be built, a $12 million project aimed at creating homes for middle-income workers.

Louis Larizza, the project's developer, first eyed the 4 acres for development seven years ago. Some $3.5 million from the county and $900,000 from the state propelled the project, which includes building a road that connects Fox Island Road to the new homes. The village owned the land and sold it to the county before Larizza bought it for $1. A small parcel that was privately owned was also acquired.

Construction began in May and Larizza, a Port Chester native, hopes to put the homes up for sale in June. They will cost $200,000 and be offered to families who make up to 80 percent of the county's median income. The median income for the county is $96,500 for a family of four. Eligible applicants will be chosen from a lottery and must get approved for a mortgage.

"I love doing moderate-income housing," Larizza said, noting that he also built affordable housing on Sands Street and West Street. "You help people who are first-time homeowners. They live in an apartment their whole lives and they can a buy a home for the first time. It's a good feeling."

The Rev. Bruce Baker, a member of the village's affordable- housing subcommittee and pastor of All Souls Parish, said Larizza's 35 units were a good start, but not enough.....

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