Nursing Home Developer Acquiring 49 Acres in Suffolk County

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A developer is shelling out top dollar on Long Island, likely to build a nursing home.

Jericho-based B2K Development agreed to buy 49 acres of the Flowerfield Fairgrounds in the hamlet of St. James for $28.7 million, Newsday reported. The seller is a subsidiary of Gyrodyne, which owns the entire 63-acre site.

B2K declined comment on the agreement and its land use plan. Gyrodyne, however, released a statement on the pending sale, where its chief executive officer referenced “a meaningful need for assisted living facilities in the region.”

That aligns with one of B2K’s core business lines, as the developer is behind The Bristol Assisted Living chain. While the property is zoned for light industrial use, Gyrodyne previously called for an assisted living facility on the site, as well as a hotel and medical offices.

B2K intends to preserve more than 40 percent of the property for open space, according to Gyrodyne.

Whether that will appease a local contingency of irate residents remains to be seen. Three years ago, Head of the Harbor Village and local residents sued Gyrodyne and the Town of Smithtown, looking to thwart a preliminary proposal to subdivide the Flowerfield Fairgrounds into eight lots.

A judge dismissed the lawsuit in October after ruling Gyrodyne’s proposal aligned with zoning rules and the town’s comprehensive plan, but a civic group appealed the ruling two months later.

The group continued to saberrattle after the sale was announced, saying that the agreement dictates the transaction “can only move forward if Suffolk County approves Gyrodyne’s proposed sewage treatment plant and provides tax benefits that developer will request from the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency,” conditions the group says may not be able to be met.

B2K was founded in 2022 by former principals of the Engel Burman Group. Two years ago, the developer proposed 86 luxury townhomes for seniors in Commack.

— Holden Walter-Warner