Beechwood Pitches $400M Plan to Revive Mastic Beach

A prominent Long Island builder has a plan to turn around Mastic Beach’s downtown, but not everyone is on board yet.

The Beechwood Organization presented a master plan for a large swath of the Brookhaven Town hamlet last week, Newsday reported. The master plan would require multiple rezonings and further approvals to move forward.

The master plan calls for the building of roughly 600 homes in downtown Mastic Beach, as well as the creation of 130,000 square feet of commercial space for restaurants, shops and more. The price tag: $400 million to $500 million, with about $100 million of that earmarked for infrastructure needs.

Beechwood’s plan would span 37 acres and 140 parcels in a triangle-shaped area along Neighborhood and Commack roads and Doris Drive. The Jericho-based builder wants to create a vibrant downtown with apartments above stores, townhouses, parking garages and infrastructure upgrades. A new park for the library and community center are also part of the plan.

The plan also calls for 2,300 parking spaces. Housing will be a mix of rentals and owned-occupied units; roughly 20 percent will be set aside for affordable housing.

Brookhaven selected Beechwood to be the master planner of Mastic Beach’s downtown two years ago.

“Mastic Beach is an area whose time has come,” Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico told the publication.

While more food options and shops would be a welcome development in the eyes of local officials, not everyone is ready to see the district change. Traffic access is one emerging concern, a common issue around development on Long Island.

There are also residents concerned about being displaced, including a woman who said during last week’s meeting that she rejected offers from Beechwood for her home.

— Holden Walter-Warner