The Vision
This new vision for Suffolk County is about safeguarding the future by creating a sustainable “smart growth” community called Heartland Town Square in Suffolk County’s hidden jewel-Brentwood, Long Island.
The goal of the 452 acre Heartland Town Square Community Plan is to create a model for “smart growth” development in Suffolk County. A sustainable community of this type is designed to create an efficient, transit served, multi-use environment that mixes employment, housing, shopping, civic and community supporting uses. This type of integrative and efficient community-focused planning opens up opportunities for maximizing resources. By employing a connected, safe and pedestrian-friendly environment designed for walking instead of driving for every household trip, it facilitates community interaction and neighborliness, saves energy and reduces our carbon footprint. This approach to “smart growth” development encourages residents to continually reinvest economically and emotionally in their community. It is this reinvestment that will make Heartland Town Square sustainable as a community, harmonious with its neighbors and compatible with the “smart growth” policy goals of Suffolk County.
The Key “Smart Growth” Objectives:
- To accommodate growth and economic development by putting underperforming properties back into productive use
- To provide employment and housing choices in order to retain Suffolk County’s talented young people
- To build in a sustainable way by mixing uses and sharing resources
- To reduce traffic impacts and carbon footprints by providing mobility choices