Putnam Seabury Partners LP filed suit on Jan. 9 against the Town of Southeast and the Town of Southeast Planning Board in New York Supreme Court in Brewster. The lawsuit accuses the town of Southeast of unconstitutionally and illegally seeking to block a longstanding mixed-use development project under review since the late 1980s until the town changes the zoning. The zone change would make the project "economically unfeasible," according to representatives of Putnam Seabury Partners.

The managing partner of Putnam Seabury Partners is Harvey Schulweis, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Town and Country Trust, a major real estate investment trust that has operations in New York City and Baltimore. Town and Country, which owns and operates 15,237 apartment units in 42 multi-family properties in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, has no interest in the Putnam Seabury venture.

Officials with the Town of Southeast offered no comment on the matter, stating that the matter is in litigation.

Putnam Seabury has hoped to develop "Campus at Fields Corners," which was initially proposed in 1986 with the encouragement of the Town of Southeast, according to representatives of Putnam Seabury. Plans include the phased construction of mixed-use affordable housing and office development on a 327-acre site near the intersection of Route 312 and Pugsley Road. The project called for the construction of 143 clustered single-family homes, 237,000 sf of office space, extensive open space, created wetlands and various water retention basins.

In 1991, following an environmental review of the proposal, the town approved a new mixed-use zone (OP-3), which would have accommodated the Campus at Fields Corners venture. Schulweis charges that his firm has spent $22 million since then to try to win all the necessary approvals to begin construction.

One major delay for the venture came in the mid 1990s when the project was forced to endure a four-year hiatus from 1995-1999 while the New York City Watershed regulations were being debated and eventually finalized.

"This has been one of the most onerous approvals processes this firm has ever experienced, but we trusted the town and were determined to work with them at every juncture to create the type of high quality mixed use development, which they encouraged us to build on the site," Schulweis says. "We were never prepared, however, for what happened next."

Schulweis recalls that the project was subject to another three years of review, but looked like it was finally going to get the go-ahead when the Town Board sent the project back to the Town Planning Board for final approval in December 2001.

While the town was discussing formulating a new Comprehensive Plan at the time, Putnam Seabury officials charge that Town Board members said that the plan would have no effect on the project and that Campus at Fields Corners would be approved shortly.

However, after several "unexplained adjournments and without any notice or advanced warning," the Town Board on Feb. 28, 2002 enacted a moratorium that halted all discussions regarding the Putnam Seabury project. Company officials also said that the Town Board indicated it intended to modify the property's zoning in order to dramatically decrease the permitted number of housing units of the Campus at Fields Corners development.

"I have filed this lawsuit as a last resort based upon our extreme frustration and disappointment in the town after years of working with them in the utmost good faith," Schulweis said. "I have attempted to sit down with various Town representatives, and either they refuse to meet with me or I cannot get a straight answer as to timing or their future plans."

In addition to the $40 million in damages, Putnam Seabury is also requesting the court grant it $22 million in damages for what it termed as the town's "temporary regulatory taking of its property."