Joe Farrell Planning 100 Affordable Modular Homes in Eastport

Joe Farrell plans on having about 100 modular homes added to the East End in the next 10 months, though he may need to weed out some unhappy residents on his way.

The Bridgehampton developer is eyeing dozens of manufactured homes for a 30-acre tract on Old Country Road, 27East reported. Farrell acquired the property last year, which was filled with garbage, tire piles and abandoned mobile homes; Farrell’s total purchase price was unclear, but he spent at least $600,000 on five parcels.

Farrell’s vision is for a gated community made of modular homes, replacing the mobile homes remaining on the site. The community would include a soccer field and the homes would be for “the working people of the Hamptons.” The occupants of 14 remaining homes on the site may stay or be moved to the new homes.

Farrell expects the first 11 units to arrive next week. By next October, he expects there to be 80 homes and basic infrastructure. He said there’s enough land for up to 150 modular homes and he plans to pay for the development on his own, recouping costs through rent revenue.

“It’s the greatest affordable project ever to be in the Hamptons,” Farrell said.

While the manufactured homes will likely be cheaper than some of Farrell’s more high-end builds, Farrell’s staff attorney said the community will consist of largely market-rate rentals and that affordable housing will only be a “very small part” of the project.

The local community is building patches of resistance to the plan, dismayed by the removal of vegetation from the tract; Farrell said it was necessary to avoid dangerous conditions and a replanting would come in the spring. This isn’t the first time Farrell has faced environmental pushback.

But Farrell is largely able to proceed without oversight due to the tract’s zoning. The developer hasn’t submitted anything to the Southampton Town Planning Board for review or approval.

“It may be ‘as of right,’ one resident said. “But it doesn’t make it right.”

— Holden Walter-Warner