AvalonBay plans more than 300 luxury rentals at site of former hospital in Amityville

A luxury apartment developer plans to build hundreds of apartments and townhouses on the site of a former Amityville hospital that closed more than a decade ago.

AvalonBay Communities of Melville has applied for a change of zone for the former Brunswick Hospital property. Their plan for the 7.6-acre site at 366 Broadway calls for 317 apartments and 21 townhouses.

Brunswick, which operated for more than 100 years, closed in 2005, and most major buildings were demolished in 2012.

The site is zoned business and residential. The village would have to create a new type of zone for the property, called a Planned Residential zoning district, Mayor Dennis Siry said, adding that the zone would be defined by the boundaries of the property.

The site is owned by BH Realty Group LLC of Amityville and was once the largest source of property tax dollars for the village. There have been numerous failed proposals for the property over the years, including apartments and retail stores such as CVS and Lowe’s.

“We’ve been waiting for the right person who would be the right fit for it,” Siry said. “Getting this back on the tax rolls and having a company like AvalonBay that is so experienced is a huge relief.”

Siry said that in meetings with AvalonBay, he pressed them to make the three-story buildings “look like old-time Amityville.”

Christopher Capece, AvalonBay’s vice president of development, stated in an email that village officials “were pretty clear that they wanted something historically contextual.” He said the company looked at the triangle building downtown and at photos of historic waterfront hotels in the village and “took design cues from these buildings and incorporated them” into the plans.  

Capece said monthly rents will range from $1,500 to $1,800 for a studio to $3,300 to $4,000 for a three-bedroom. The townhouses will also be rentals at $3,200 to $4,000 per month.   

AvalonBay has complexes in a dozen states, with 10 on Long Island.

Last month, the village entered into an agreement with Babylon Town to do the environmental work, which will be paid for by AvalonBay. Siry said the village wants the environmental assessment done before a hearing on the rezoning.

“Having a good company coming and doing something that meets a need on Long Island and the village, we think it’s a good combo,” he said. “We’re putting our faith in them, and hopefully it’s the right thing, but we really won’t know until years from now.”

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.