Affordable apartments in Baldwin available through housing lottery
Renter applications are being taken for Baldwin Commons, a new 33-unit, all-affordable apartment building on Merrick Road in Baldwin. Credit: Newsday / Steve Pfost
Apartment hunters can apply through April 8 to rent one of 33 new apartments in Baldwin that are available at below-market rents through a housing lottery.
Baldwin Commons, an all-affordable apartment building on Merrick Road about a half mile from the hamlet’s Long Island Rail Road station, is expected to open this summer for renters who meet certain income requirements.
The new four-story building offers a mix of one and two-bedroom units, with rents starting as low as $1,347. Of the 33 units, two-thirds have one bedroom and will cost $1,636 a month.
The building, a joint venture from Rochester-based Park Grove Realty and Community Development Long Island, is part of Baldwin’s broader downtown revitalization initiative, which earned the hamlet a $10 million state grant in 2019, including $850,000 for Baldwin Commons.
The developer said in 2021 the building represents the first new rental apartments in Baldwin since the 1980s, according to its state environmental review filing.
The new housing units are desperately needed on Long Island, said Gwen O’Shea, president and CEO of the nonprofit Community Development Long Island. She said the lottery had already received 500 application as of late February.
"It’s a really great opportunity," she said. "It gets at what we know is so critical, which is to have people be in a great place to live without spending more money than they should."
Individuals applying for the lottery can earn up to $75,000, with four units set aside at that income level. For the majority of the units, single renters can earn no more than $65,640.
Income restrictions depend on family size. A family of three renting one of the building’s two-bedroom units could earn up to $84,360. Applications are available at https://www.baldwincommons.com.
The Merrick Road site, near Grand Avenue, was formerly occupied by a pawnbroker shop and an auto-parts store. Earlier, it had been home to The Grand Diner. A local dealership had most recently used the site to park cars.
About a half-mile away, Breslin Realty plans to build a 215-unit building, The Grand at Baldwin, on a formerly vacant site on Sunrise Highway across from the Long Island Rail Road.
The Baldwin Civic Association has supported Baldwin Commons and appreciates that the building offers parking on-site, said Kimberly Malone, the association’s president.
She believes the building will provide an option for people looking to downsize from single-family homes and for younger people who need an affordable rental.
“We think this is a great way to have people be able to stay in Baldwin, which is what I think a lot of families want,” she said.
Malone said she believes the opening will provide a boost to businesses along Grand Avenue between the building and the Long Island Rail Road.
“I’m really hoping the additional individuals living in Baldwin will shore up this notion that we have what it takes to support business that want to come here,” she said.
The project received state funding as well as tax benefits from the Town of Hempstead IDA. It entered a 20-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement, in which it will pay about $1.1 million over the first 20 years of the agreement, with a possible 10-year extension. The developer also received about $600,000 in sales and mortgage recording tax exemptions, according to IDA documents.
Federal and state financial support is critical to make projects like Baldwin Commons financially feasible, said Eric Alexander, director of downtown planning organization Vision Long Island.
The average asking rent on Long Island across all apartment sizes is about $2,900 so far this year, according to CoStar, a commercial real estate data company. That data reflects market-rate buildings with at least five units and excludes all-affordable buildings like Baldwin Commons.
“This is significantly more affordable,” Alexander said of rents at Baldwin Commons. “With the cost of everything going up, and the inflation we’ve seen over the last few years, this could be a lifeline for people or a new start.”
Apartment hunters can apply through April 8 to rent one of 33 new apartments in Baldwin that are available at below-market rents through a housing lottery.
Baldwin Commons, an all-affordable apartment building on Merrick Road about a half mile from the hamlet’s Long Island Rail Road station, is expected to open this summer for renters who meet certain income requirements.
The new four-story building offers a mix of one and two-bedroom units, with rents starting as low as $1,347. Of the 33 units, two-thirds have one bedroom and will cost $1,636 a month.
The building, a joint venture from Rochester-based Park Grove Realty and Community Development Long Island, is part of Baldwin’s broader downtown revitalization initiative, which earned the hamlet a $10 million state grant in 2019, including $850,000 for Baldwin Commons.
The developer said in 2021 the building represents the first new rental apartments in Baldwin since the 1980s, according to its state environmental review filing.
The new housing units are desperately needed on Long Island, said Gwen O’Shea, president and CEO of the nonprofit Community Development Long Island. She said the lottery had already received 500 application as of late February.
"It’s a really great opportunity," she said. "It gets at what we know is so critical, which is to have people be in a great place to live without spending more money than they should."
Individuals applying for the lottery can earn up to $75,000, with four units set aside at that income level. For the majority of the units, single renters can earn no more than $65,640.
Income restrictions depend on family size. A family of three renting one of the building’s two-bedroom units could earn up to $84,360. Applications are available at https://www.baldwincommons.com.
The Merrick Road site, near Grand Avenue, was formerly occupied by a pawnbroker shop and an auto-parts store. Earlier, it had been home to The Grand Diner. A local dealership had most recently used the site to park cars.
About a half-mile away, Breslin Realty plans to build a 215-unit building, The Grand at Baldwin, on a formerly vacant site on Sunrise Highway across from the Long Island Rail Road.
The Baldwin Civic Association has supported Baldwin Commons and appreciates that the building offers parking on-site, said Kimberly Malone, the association’s president.
She believes the building will provide an option for people looking to downsize from single-family homes and for younger people who need an affordable rental.
“We think this is a great way to have people be able to stay in Baldwin, which is what I think a lot of families want,” she said.
Malone said she believes the opening will provide a boost to businesses along Grand Avenue between the building and the Long Island Rail Road.
“I’m really hoping the additional individuals living in Baldwin will shore up this notion that we have what it takes to support business that want to come here,” she said.
The project received state funding as well as tax benefits from the Town of Hempstead IDA. It entered a 20-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement, in which it will pay about $1.1 million over the first 20 years of the agreement, with a possible 10-year extension. The developer also received about $600,000 in sales and mortgage recording tax exemptions, according to IDA documents.
Federal and state financial support is critical to make projects like Baldwin Commons financially feasible, said Eric Alexander, director of downtown planning organization Vision Long Island.
The average asking rent on Long Island across all apartment sizes is about $2,900 so far this year, according to CoStar, a commercial real estate data company. That data reflects market-rate buildings with at least five units and excludes all-affordable buildings like Baldwin Commons.
“This is significantly more affordable,” Alexander said of rents at Baldwin Commons. “With the cost of everything going up, and the inflation we’ve seen over the last few years, this could be a lifeline for people or a new start.”
Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.
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