Great Neck apartments to offer views of Manhasset Bay

A Long Island real estate firm has started construction on a new 64-unit rental building in Great Neck on the site of a former village sewer plant.

Villadom Corp. is building a four-story, 160,000-square-foot apartment building at 263-267 East Shore Road, according to plans shared by the development’s architecture firm, Greenvale-based Mojo Stumer Associates.

The new development will add housing in a part of Great Neck the village has previously identified as suitable for redevelopment, but some locals have expressed concerns the apartments would add to congestion without offering an affordable option to tenants.

Construction crews were conducting excavation work on the site earlier this week, and the apartments are slated to open in 2028. Kris Torkan, who leads Villadom and is also mayor of Kings Point, did not respond to requests for comment. It's unclear how much the building will seek in future rents. 

The building’s hillside design, more than 20 feet above street level, will offer residents views of Manhasset Bay from across East Shore Road. An amenity building with a fitness center and a residents’ lounge will be located down the hill from the apartments closer to the road, said Joe Yacobellis, a partner and director of design at Mojo Stumer Associates.

The development is located across the street from a BMW service center.

Yacobellis said he believed the luxury apartments would attract residents who are ready to sell their house but want to stay nearby.

"This creates the opportunity for people who are longtime Great Neck and Kings Point residents to stay in this area and continue to live here but downsize appropriately," Yacobellis said.

The village initially approved the sale in 2020, and a consultant for the developer completed environmental studies of the former sewer plant in 2021. The village board of trustees said it found "no adverse environmental impacts" from the proposal, meeting minutes at the time show.

The new development follows a 2018 study that identified certain properties for redevelopment along the Middle Neck Road and East Shore Road corridors. The study, authored by Hauppauge consulting firm VHB, aimed to help the village increase its tax base by finding new housing opportunities and ways to attract commercial businesses.

Residents at the time voiced concerns about additional traffic as well as strains on the local sanitation and school district, Newsday previously reported. Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral did not respond to a request for comment.

Jean Pierce, 85, a Great Neck homeowner said she's concerned the new housing will produce traffic, and rents will be unaffordable for working people. 

"It's bringing housing but for who?" she said. 

The former sewer plant had more recently been used by a car dealership to park cars. 

The new building could attract some prospective renters who've been priced out of the village's million-dollar homes, said Phil Raices, broker and owner of Turn Key Real Estate in Great Neck. But East Shore Road still lacks access to public transit, dining and shopping that's available in Great Neck Plaza, Raices said. 

The immediate area around the development includes a mix of auto body shops, building materials suppliers and office buildings.

"It's not walkable enough," Raices said. 

But renters have limited options in the area, and some prefer to drive and will value the area's quick access to highways, said Angela Chaman, an agent at Laffey Real Estate in Great Neck.  Avalon Great Neck, a 191-unit rental building that opened in 2017, has attracted tenants with options for short-term leases, she said. 

"Rentals are hard to find right now, so there’s definitely going to be a lot of interest there," Chaman said.

There were 43 rental listings in the broader Great Neck area earlier this week ranging from a $2,300 a month one-bedroom unit in Great Neck Plaza to a $15,000 a month six-bedroom home in Kings Point.

Rachel Schulman, 47, who rents in Great Neck and works on East Shore Road, said she would be open to the new apartments. However, she has noticed new buildings often charge too much for what they offer. She also worries it may add to traffic in the area.

"If it’s reasonable, I would look for an apartment there, but it has to allow pets," said Shulman, who has a 7-year-old Shih Tzu.