Plans for revitalizing North Bellport received a boost earlier this month when the Town of Brookhaven was awarded a $4.5 million NY Forward grant.

The state grant money will be used to redevelop North Bellport’s Montauk Highway corridor by supporting the addition of affordable housing, grocery stores, and restaurants and improving transportation options, according to a press release from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. Hochul announced the grant on Jan. 18 during a speech at Kings Park High School.

“That’s a visionary community, right there,” Hochul said in announcing the grant. She called the plan to increase affordable housing in North Bellport as “music to my ears.”

Hochul also announced the Village of Mineola will receive a $4.5 million NY Forward grant and Kings Park will receive a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant.

“This funding is vital to the ongoing downtown revitalization efforts in both Kings Park and North Bellport, and will help create jobs and jumpstart local economic growth in our communities,” Suffolk County executive Ed Romaine said in a press release.

Brookhaven will use the grant to partner with the private sector to develop affordable housing near the Bellport Long Island Rail Road station and create a mixed-use business district to which the town hopes to attract a bank, grocery store, and other businesses.

“Last year I went to Melville, on behalf of the Town of Brookhaven, for a major revitalization project that we are undertaking for North Bellport,” Brookhaven Town supervisor Daniel J. Panico said in a press release. “I presented before an esteemed NYS Empire State Development (NY ESD) panel and I’m proud to report that we won that grant for a wonderful revitalization project diagonally across from the Bellport train station—over every other finalist.”

A developer is planning to build apartments at Montauk Highway and Atlantic Avenue.

The project has drawn interest from a credit union and a supermarket. The community needs both, said Joann Neal, co-chair of the Greater Bellport Coalition.

Brookhaven Town councilman Mike Loguercio, who represents North Bellport, said the grant is “a tremendous help in moving forward with our promise to revitalize the area, create jobs, provide affordable housing, generate revenue, and help the good folks of North Bellport to live and work close to home.”

County Legis. Dominick Thorne called news of the grant “awesome news.”

“I’m happy to see it,” said Thorne, whose district includes North Bellport. Thorne said he’d like to see a primary care doctor’s office come to North Bellport to serve area residents.