Luxury Westbury apartment complex 50% leased, developer says

Apartments at The Vanderbilt, a luxury rental complex opening this month in Westbury with monthly rents topping out at $8,000, are more than 50 percent leased, the developer said.

Steven Dubb, principal at the Beechwood Organization, said tenants can start moving in next week at the $120 million, 195-unit development, a combination high-end apartment building and extended-stay hotel.

The rents are among the highest on the Island, starting at $3,500 for an 880-square-foot one-bedroom and rising to $8,000 for a 1,700-square-foot two-bedroom penthouse with den. Short-term stays will cost a minimum of $4,800 for one month, although shorter stays can be negotiated.

Amenities include a 24-hour concierge, a 24-hour grab-and-go cafe, library, billiards and game room, children’s playroom, dog park, outdoor swimming pool and bar.

Residents and short-stay guests will have access to on-site personal training, physical therapy, yoga classes and massages in the building’s fitness studio.

And come April, they’ll be able to dine at Kingfish, a 5,000-square-foot Tom Schaudel restaurant, which will be open to the public.

Dubb said comments he received about Beechwood’s 720-unit luxury condo complex, Meadowbrook Pointe, also in Westbury, were “the spark” to develop The Vanderbilt.

“People didn’t want to buy and kept asking us to rent,” he said Wednesday.

Dubb said that while tenants at the Vanderbilt “include a mix of millennials and Gen-Xers,” many are Baby Boomers.

“Baby Boomers have spent their whole lives accumulating wealth, and now they want to live well,” he said. “They don’t want to worry about snow removal, or garbage removal, or any of the maintenance that comes along with taking care of a home.”

Peter Villani, 67, a retiree who’s lived in Manhattan for the past two years, said he’s moving to a $3,850-a-month, one-bedroom apartment with his wife, Leslie, and their 5 1⁄2-pound Yorkie, Macie, in July.

“We checked out a few rentals on Long Island,” said Villani, who said he and his wife have three adult children.

“But The Vanderbilt was a no-brainer. We really liked the quality of the finishes, the stainless-steel appliances. It’s all-in-one. And there’s going to be a top-notch restaurant downstairs, so we can just walk down and grab dinner rather than cooking.”

Pankti Patel, a 32-year-old surgeon, said moving to The Vanderbilt was ideal because it’s close to three of the four Long Island hospitals where she works.

“The Westbury train station is eight minutes away, and the LIE is nearby too, so it’s very convenient,” she said.

“Plus, it’s very modern and luxurious and has so many wonderful amenities, so even though it’s a little on the expensive side, I think it’s a bang for the buck.”

Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, said he sees a “clear need” for new housing on Long Island — on both ends of the economic spectrum.

“We need affordable housing for millennials and others who can’t afford the median home prices and rents on Long Island,” Levy said. “But we also need higher-end, highly amenitized housing for Baby Boomers. Not everybody wants to move to Boca Raton year-round.”

Levy, who said he raised his own children in a home in Dix Hills and now lives in an apartment in downtown Rockville Centre, said rentals such as The Vanderbilt are attractive options for empty-nesters who are downsizing.

“They want to stay in the communities where they raised their kids, they’re interested in luxury properties and want all the amenities that come with them,” he said. “There’s definitely a market for this.”