Westbury OKs $97 million apartment complex near LIRR station, with 12% for affordable housing

The Village of Westbury approved a $97 million, 187-unit apartment building in its transit-oriented development zone — part of a push to remake a blighted industrial area. 

Construction on the project, feet from the Westbury Long Island Rail Road station, is expected to begin by the end of the year or early the next, Mayor Peter Cavallaro said in an interview. A total of 12% of the units, or 23, will be affordable. 

The building will be part of a long-standing push to develop the zone, which is full of truck yards and stone yards. The Cornerstone Westbury, a complex consisting of a pair of buildings on Railroad Avenue, recently brought about 140 units of housing to the area. Cavallaro said the developers built on an "underutilized, underdeveloped and unattractive place." 

The apartment building, on Linden Avenue between Union Avenue and Scally Place, will replace a series of empty commercial buildings, the mayor said.

"This is consistent with our long-term plan to have the 55 acres near the train station that we rezoned, uplift it from a sort of blighted, industrial area, to a more productive, and valuable — from a tax-base standpoint — development," Cavallaro said. "Bring more people into the village who can utilize our downtown."

The project's developer, Alpine Residential, is also working on a mixed-use development near the Hicksville LIRR station. 

Todd Schefler, managing partner for Alpine Residential, said in an interview the developer is "actively looking" for more opportunities to build in the zone. Rents haven't been determined yet, Schefler said.

"It makes a lot more sense to have housing near the train station," Schefler said. "People could commute to work or go into the city and have fun and not even need a car."

Eric Alexander, director of Vision Long Island, a downtown planning organization, worked with the village to develop a zoning code for the area.

“We really like it when a plan is approved, and the development that comes mirrors what was anticipated,” he said.

Alpine Residential is seeking tax breaks for the project from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. Bram Weber, an attorney for the Melville-based Weber Law Group representing Alpine, said he hopes to secure a public hearing with the IDA soon.

"Now that we have full village approval, we're very much focused on concluding the IDA process," Weber said. "We're moving forward, full speed."

Cavallaro said Westbury has about 4,600 units of housing, most of which are single-family homes. There are 700 or 800 units on Post Avenue, the village's main thoroughfare.

The zone, which is bounded by Post Avenue, Maple Avenue and Railroad Avenue, could fit at least 1,000 units as a "max build." But Cavallaro said that's an unlikely number given the possibility of the creation of open spaces and public facilities.

Last year, New York named Westbury a "pro-housing" community. Municipalities are eligible if they have demonstrated they've increased housing stock by 1% in the previous year or 3% over the previous three years. The designation allows them to unlock discretionary state funds.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.