Long Beach Superblock apartments, condominiums preparing for March occupancy, developers say

Luxury apartments and condominiums rising at the vacant Superblock property in Long Beach will be ready for occupancy in March, developers told Newsday.

The mixed-use development on the 6½-acre lot between Long Beach and Riverside boulevards will include two nine-story owner-occupied condominiums with 200 units and a 10-story apartment building with 238 rental units, of which 24 are affordable units. Amenities include fire pits, outdoor cooking spaces, storage for bikes and surfboards, swimming pools and hot tubs with cabanas and coworking spaces, the developer said.

The project, at a cost of over $300 million, includes 1,000 parking spaces.

“It’s the kind of place where you can go and not leave for a week because everything is there,” said David Burman, president of the Jericho-based B2K Development, which developed the property with Harrison Street, a Chicago-based investment management firm. 

Builders broke ground on the property in September 2021, ending a 40-year stalemate following decades of litigation and disputes between elected officials and developers. The three-building complex on 1.2 million square feet is expected to bring new economic development to Long Beach and Nassau and boost the city's revenue, city officials said, although some residents also expressed concerns about the tax breaks awarded to the developer and the influx of new residents straining infrastructure. 

Long Beach Chamber of Commerce co-chair Jamie Lynch said the property previously was “unsightly," full of garbage and overgrown with weeds, which were cleared when Engel Burman acquired the property.

Sam Pinto, 39, who lives a block away from the development, said work crews "have been great neighbors through the construction," adding the vacant lot was unkempt. 

Construction at the property had stalled for years with prior developers, including a plan by Manhattan developer iStar Financial to build 522 apartments in two 15-story towers. The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency also rejected up to $129 million in tax breaks and the city refused to back the project.

Clearing way for new development 

Engel Burman, now known as B2K, purchased the property in August 2021, marking a sea change after developers agreed to build within the city’s zoning code without variance. A condition of the project also called for developers to pay for more than $3 million in sewer and water improvements and pay an additional $425,000 to cover the city’s on-site stormwater requirements from Nassau County.

Long Beach City Council President John Bendo said he told Engel Burman at the start of the project to listen to residents, follow zoning codes and enhance the neighborhood and the boardwalk, Newsday previously reported.

The Nassau IDA eventually approved $49 million in tax breaks over 25 years in a PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, deal. The condos will begin paying property taxes as soon as they’re built.

Property's 'history of legal, political fighting'

Bendo said recently the property was mired in a long "history of legal and political fighting" but added the current city administration was steadfast in getting something done with the stagnant property. He said iStar's $129 million tax break request would have incurred a financial loss for the city but the expected revenue from the Engel Burman project will benefit the city. 

"We figured out that the city was actually going to lose money for 25 years on the iStar property the way they wanted to do it," he said. "Meaning the taxpayers of this city for 25 years were [going to subsidize] the profit margin of a $5 million developer." 

The cost of the project spurred some residents in 2017 to seek legal action against the city zoning board and a subsidiary of iStar.

Leah Tozer, 48, said she opposed the iStar project because of the potential burden to taxpayers.

Tozer, a real estate broker who has lived in Long Beach for 30 years, on Tuesday said she supports the Superblock development and recently showed a client one of the units. 

She said she supports "smart developments" that elevate the city but is also concerned about the influx of residents in an already dense community.

“The drawbacks," she said are, "you’re squeezing in so many more people into a very densely populated area, so that has its own particular challenges to it," she said. "But again, just leaving it vacant and having absolutely nothing there is not appropriate."

The condo taxes, which developers said are an average of $15,000 per unit annually, will boost the city's economy, and the addition of businesses on the boardwalk will benefit residents and retail owners alike, Bendo said. 

On Thursday, against the backdrop of a blazing sun, a cacophony of squawking seagulls and crashing Atlantic Ocean waves, construction crews and several cranes continued their work on the high-rise project. In front of the property, on the boardwalk, residents and visitors biked and jogged while beachgoers relaxed on the shore. 

Resident Kathy Rosenblum, 65, who has lived in Long Beach for 12 years, said when she moved to the city, the Superblock property was derelict. Some residents, she said, are opposed to development, but she said she is looking forward to new residents and businesses that will breathe life into the city. 

“Embrace it and just keep looking at your home value,” she said, addressing residents not thrilled with the development. “Every nail in the wall is a dollar in my pocket.” 

Prices for the one-to four-bedroom condos range from $875,000 to $4.5 million. Twenty units were sold in just a few days after sales began, said Douglas Elliman director of sales Glen Fox. The apartments, which max out at two bedrooms, will range in price from the low $3,000s to low $5,000s monthly, Burman said. 

Developers anticipate the condos being sold within 18 months and rental units being filled within 15 months.

Tax breaks 'a necessary evil'

The property is five blocks from the Long Island Rail Road station and is expected to introduce foot traffic to nearby shops and restaurants, Lynch said. The property’s main level will have retail space. Half a dozen retailers, including restaurants, are nearing lease agreements, said Burman, adding that Skudin Surf shop will be a tenant. 

The addition of new retailers is needed to supplement full-time residents and attract summer visitors, Lynch said.

A July 2020 fiscal analysis by Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, an environmental planning and consulting firm in Melville, shows that condo owners are projected to spend $3.5 million annually in the city on goods and services, while renters are expected to generate $1.8 million in buying power for Long Beach establishments. 

“The boardwalk, as beautiful as it is, doesn’t have a lot to do on it,” Lynch said. “There’s some concession stands, and they're all doing very well, but this retail will bring a little more life when the season is over.” 

Lynch said many residents have come to the chamber with questions about the property and many are excited about the transformation about the derelict property. Business owners are looking forward to it, he said, because the project introduces “so much buying power” with residents and visitors. 

The chamber co-chair said he wasn’t happy about the tax breaks developers received, but said projects of this caliber can’t be completed without them, calling them “a necessary evil.” 

"We wished they didn’t do it, but it's part of the building process these days," Lynch said of the Nassau County IDA. "If that's what it takes."

By Brinley Hineman

brinley.hineman@newsday.com

Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.