Hicksville Sears owner weighs mixed-use development for site

Owners of the Sears department store in Hicksville are working on plans to transform the site after it closes into a development combining apartments and retail, a local development expert said.

Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust and spinoff of Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart stores, plans to transform the store at 195 N. Broadway into a multistory, transit-oriented development, said Desmond Ryan, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a real estate developer lobbying group.

“When you take into consideration the economic situation that Sears is having nationally, they had to make a determination as to what to do with the store in Hicksville,” Ryan said. “It’s no longer an economically viable operation.” Sears has been closing many of its stores in recent years.

Seritage representatives have met with community groups and residents over the year to discuss ideas for the site, such as 394 apartments and a mix of retail stores, according to reports in Long Island Weekly and the Syosset Jericho Tribune.

The representatives gave a Midland Civic Association November meeting updates on preliminary plans, said association president Tom Pfeifer.

“It’s a complex of apartments and retail stores with retail being on the lowest level and apartments being above them,” Pfeifer said. While plans were “very preliminary” and subject to change, the association president said the most recent plans called for an increase in the number of apartments from “approximately 400 to approximately 600.”

Seritage wouldn’t be specific about its plans. “While we are unable to share specifics at this time, we aim to transform the property into a highly productive destination that adds value to the community,” an outside spokesman for Seritage said.

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