Amityville extends time to seek downtown developers

Amityville Village officials have extended the deadline for developers to submit qualifications to undertake planned downtown redevelopment.

Development companies now have two more weeks, until Jan. 20, to submit their qualifications for the project.

Village trustee Nick LaLota said officials made the extension this week after a prospective developer, which he declined to identify publicly, asked for more time. No companies have submitted materials yet, but LaLota said he expects at least three more firms to provide materials by the new deadline.

Trustees and the two co-chairs of the Downtown Revitalization Committee hope to select a partner by early March, he said.

“The Mayor and Board of Trustees are committed to the revitalization of downtown Amityville,” officials wrote in a request for qualifications that cites the village’s easy access to Manhattan and major roadways. “Amityville is ripe for economic growth and development.”

Officials have described the project as critical for the village, which is trying to transform a sleepy downtown with chronic storefront vacancies and little pedestrian traffic into a destination for shoppers and commuters who use the nearby bus and Long Island Rail Road lines.

The effort comes as progress stalled on development at the privately owned Brunswick Hospital property north of downtown, now partially demolished but once the largest source of property tax revenue for the village.

The downtown redevelopment effort, announced last fall, would affect about 60 parcels of publicly and privately owned land on the Route 110 corridor from Sunrise Highway on the north to Avon Place on the south.

Village officials would likely grant land and development rights to the company they choose as partner. In return, the company would take on master developer duties, laying out proposed uses, target markets and public improvements to the streetscape and parking. Details of the request for qualifications can be reviewed at the village website, amityville.com.

Much of the downtown would likely be rezoned to encourage a mix of retail and residential uses, officials have said, easing density, parking and height requirements.

“The administration sees the benefits of downtowns that look like Babylon, Farmingdale and Patchogue,” LaLota said. “We appreciate the mixed-use concepts they’ve incorporated and we look forward to having more coffee shops, restaurants and other retail to make Amityville a destination for shoppers, especially.”