Hempstead gets preliminary OK for $89M in tax-exempt bonds for senior housing 

A developer seeking to build 314 affordable senior apartments in Hempstead Village could benefit from $89 million in tax-exempt financing through the Nassau County Local Economic Assistance Corp.

The agency granted preliminary approval for the bond financing at its meeting Sept. 22.

The apartments would be split between a pair of proposed developments at 145 N. Franklin St. and 226 Clinton St. in the village.

Richard Kessel, chairman of the corporation and the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, called it a “golden opportunity” to work with officials in a village where the agencies haven’t consistently provided benefits in the past. He said seniors are particularly underserved when it comes to affordable housing across Nassau County.

“The village is in need of housing for all types of people with low to moderate income and certainly for seniors,” Kessel said. “The more of these types of projects that can get done in the village will be better for the local economy.”

The bulk of the units proposed by developer Daniel Goldstein of BOSFA Properties in Lawrence would be built at the North Franklin Street site, previously owned by Faith Baptist Church. The existing building would be demolished for the construction of 244 senior apartments funded in part by a $57 million tax-exempt bond. The proposed 263,000-square-foot mixed-use building would also include 8,900 square feet of commercial retail space. 

The Clinton Street proposal includes construction of 70 senior apartments and 50 additional units that would not be restricted by age. A $32 million tax-exempt bond would help fund construction on that project.

Goldstein said the idea of mixing senior apartments with non-age-restricted units creates a unique opportunity for multigenerational housing within a senior development.

“It’s a chance for a grandparent and grandchild to live in the same building,” he said.

Kessel said the developer will need to work with Hempstead Village to receive all necessary permits before final approval can be granted. He said his agency wants to make sure the Clinton Street development featuring multiple types of housing does not overburden the Hempstead School District with new students. The district educates more than 6,700 children.

Goldstein stressed that priority housing would be granted to village residents, though it has not yet been determined what criteria would be used to establish that process.

The applications for the two projects state that a combined 470 temporary construction jobs would be created, 350 of which would be at the North Franklin Street site. The developers aim to complete construction on the projects in 2024.

For more than 40 years, the Calderone Theatre operated as a concert hall and movie house at the North Franklin Street address. It hosted mainstream acts such as Aerosmith, Lou Reed and ZZ Top before it became a multiplex in 1992. Goldstein’s company acquired the site from the church in March for $5 million.

The Clinton Street property previously housed a health clinic. That 20,000-square-foot building would be demolished and replaced with 55,000 square feet of new construction. Goldstein acquired the site for $2.7 million in February 2021.