'A sigh of relief' in Amityville after developer nixes 2nd rental complex proposal

A developer has nixed plans to build a second large-scale luxury apartment complex in Amityville after village officials and residents pushed back by saying they first need to see the impact of the complex that’s under construction.

AvalonBay Communities is currently building 317 apartments and 21 town house rentals on 7.7 acres at 366 Broadway, the former site of Brunswick Hospital. Tenants are expected to start to move in this summer, with full occupancy not anticipated until summer 2024, according to AvalonBay attorney Joseph Buzzell.

The company recently proposed constructing "Avalon Amityville South" across the street on the southwest side of Louden Avenue and Route 110/Broadway with 168 apartments in one two-story building with lofts and four three-story buildings with lofts. Now that plan is dead.

“We are collectively breathing a sigh of relief and just taking a deep breath,” said resident Joan Donnison, who is president of the Bay Village Civic Association. “I think it was just too much, too fast, too soon.”

The village had been set to hold public hearings this month related to the proposal.

“A lot of the residents had voiced concerns about it, and even some of our departments — the Fire Department, the Police Department — had their concerns,” said Mayor Dennis Siry.

“We couldn’t 100% guarantee them that it was going to happen so they decided not to invest any more into it," he added of the developer.

AvalonBay had been in contract to buy the property, a former hospital parking lot, from Ramses Realty LLC, Buzzell said.

“The property owners had been in contract for awhile and there was pressure from them to do something or not,” he said. “The village clearly does not want to rush to anything and neither does the community and the property owners feel they need to rush to it. Now is not the time. A month or two would not have resolved the situation.”

Ramses couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. 

The five-member village board of trustees had been split on the proposal, with Owen Brooks Jr. and Michael O'Neill voicing disapproval and Thomas Whalen saying he was "on the fence" about it at a board meeting last month.

“I’d like to see the village settle down and absorb the new residents and see things going smoothly before we jump and create another big complex,” Brooks told Newsday on Monday, noting that other apartments that also are being built will mean an 80% increase in rental units for Amityville, which has about 10,000 residents.

“The numbers were starting to scare people a little bit," he added.

Siry was in favor of the project, saying he thought the second AvalonBay complex would have helped the village’s downtown revitalization efforts. Amityville last year won $10 million from the state to fund 11 projects related to the revitalization.

“Maybe down the road they’ll be back again and we can make it work,” Siry told Newsday.

Buzzell said the door remains open for AvalonBay to propose another apartment plan, but that won't happen anytime soon.

“I don’t think anybody wants to see that proposal in the immediate future,” he said. “I think they want to let a little more water flow under the bridge before they roll up their sleeves and deal with that.”

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.