Luxury apartments poised to take over Touro College campus

The revitalization efforts of downtown Bay Shore have caught the attention of developer TRITEC Real Estate, which plans to build hundreds of luxury rental apartments there.

The $195 million project is slated for the 10.3-acre Touro College's School of Health Sciences campus at Union Boulevard and Fourth Avenue, a block away from the Long Island Rail Road train station.

Touro has agreed to sell their location to TRITEC for an undisclosed amount as the school moves to consolidate its programs to its Central Islip campus. The sale should be completed by August 2020, said Kelley Coughlan-Heck, vice president of development at the developer. 

“Touro College has completed a deal with Tritec to purchase the Touro Bay Shore Campus which we will integrate into our Central Islip campus with the addition of one new building. Both Touro and TRITEC are awaiting town approval on details of construction at both affected sites," said Jeffrey Rosengarten, senior vice president of operations for Touro, in an emailed statement.

The Islip Town Planning Board will hold a public hearing at its Nov. 14 meeting on TRITEC's change of zone application for the parcel from business district to downtown development district.

According to the application, the proposed TRITEC building will have 5,000 square feet of commercial space and house 465 apartments, which will be a mix of sizes from studios to two-bedroom units, and aims to attract a well-heeled population through luxury offerings and amenities. The proximity to the train station is also touted as a prime feature. 

The details of the proposal are still being drafted with community input, Coughlan-Heck said. "We are still currently in the process of meeting with community members," she said, calling the public input "pretty vital in our design — we look to them for a lot of design feedback." The style and offerings would be similar to TRITEC's New Village development in Patchogue, she said.

The Town of Islip's Industrial Development Agency has approved a "preliminary inducement resolution," which indicates the development may qualify for the town's Uniform Tax Exemption Policy for mixed-use or high-density rental housing in certain downtown corridors, according to William Mannix, executive director of the Islip IDA, in an emailed statement. He added that the project will need environmental review and zoning approval before the inducements can be issued.

As Bay Shore has grown more popular, 17 other apartment complexes in the past seven years with nearly 600 rental apartment units have been built or approved for the hamlet of 26,300 residents. TRITEC is not worried about the area market being saturated because the new development is aimed at the higher end of the rental market, said Chris Kelly, the company's vice president for marketing.

"I think it's a little different than the product that's being supplied right now. They're highly amenitized luxury apartment rentals," he said, and added, "I think the size and scope of the project will help. Bay Shore has an awesome downtown — it has phenomenal restaurants and great tenancy, but it needs more feet on the street right now just to create that thriving culture."