Hicksville downtown redevelopment plan faces March deadline

A developing vision for downtown Hicksville has come into sharper focus as a March 31 deadline looms for Oyster Bay to submit its final proposals to the state for projects seeking a piece of a $10 million grant.

The town plans to hold its final public workshop on redeveloping Hicksville Monday night and its final planning committee meeting on March 15.

The thrust of the revitalization concept is to create public spaces as catalysts for private development, Erik Wood, associate principal at HKS Architects, the Manhattan office of the international firm working as a consultant on the effort, said at the Feb. 15 planning committee meeting.

“The idea is that this particular public open space system would be the thing that can organize and spur investment in private sector activities,” Wood said at the meeting. Increased foot traffic in the open spaces would mean more purchasing power flowing to businesses, he said.

“Once investment in the open space occurs, you begin to increase the value or the perceived value of the adjacent properties,” Wood said.

The committee has narrowed down its selection for grant-funded projects from a list of 23 public and private projects to seven seeking $18.8 million.

David Ashton, an official from the New York Department of State, said at the meeting that the town should submit a proposal seeking $12 million to $15 million of grant funding. The state would then announce its grant awards for individual projects in the early summer. The planning process is using $300,000 of the grant, leaving $9.7 million to be awarded to building projects in Hicksville.

Among the larger projects the committee has supported are a new entry to the Long Island Rail Road station from West John Street to relieve traffic congestion on Route 106 and development of a new station plaza.

The new entry to the station would reconfigure nearby streets, move 71 parking spaces, and build a new canopy in the drop-off area. It is seeking $4.2 million of grant funding. The station plaza would create an open pedestrian space on 0.9 acre immediately north of the train station on Newbridge Road.

Other proposed projects include another plaza, mixed-use development on West Barclay Street, a private mixed-use development called 99 Hicksville Station Plaza, an expansion of a day care facility, and a small-business loan fund.

Monday’s public workshop starts at 7 p.m. at the Hicksville Community Center at 28 West Carl St.