AvalonBay's plan for a second large-scale rental project in Amityville village 'too much, too soon,' says village board trustee
The parcel AvalonBay is hoping to develop into 168 apartments across the street from the company’s current apartment complex being built near Louden Avenue and Route 110. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Some Amityville residents and board members are resisting a luxury apartment developer's push for a second large-scale rental project in the village even as their first complex is still under construction.
At a board meeting Monday night, both residents and trustees said AvalonBay Communities’ plan — to add more than 100 apartments across the street from a complex being built with more than 300 units — is too much, too soon for the village of nearly 10,000 people.
AvalonBay is building 317 apartments and 21 town houses on 7.7 acres at 366 Broadway, the former site of Brunswick Hospital. The company is not expected to start renting units there until this summer, said Mayor Dennis Siry, and units will not be fully occupied until fall 2024. AvalonBay received a 15-year tax break from the Babylon Town IDA for the project, saving them nearly $20 million. Representatives from AvalonBay did not respond to requests for comment.
The company now wants to build “Avalon Amityville South” on the southwest side of Louden Avenue and Route 110/Broadway. According to revised plans submitted to the village on Friday, AvalonBay is proposing to build 168 apartments in one two-story building with lofts and four three-story buildings with lofts. The plan calls for 108 one-bedrooms, 50 two-bedrooms, 6 studios and 4 three-bedrooms. Village officials said no affordable housing information has been provided yet for the proposed project but that 10% of the units in the current complex being built will be designated as affordable.
On Monday, the village board of trustees voted to make themselves the lead agency for the project to review an environmental impact study and to hire L.K. McLean Associates, P.C. of Brookhaven to review a traffic study, with both studies having been done by AvalonBay. They also voted to hold public hearings on March 13 to amend the boundaries of the village’s planned residential overlay district and change the zoning of the Louden Avenue property from residential and business zoning to the overlay district, which was created by the village for the first AvalonBay complex. On Wednesday village officials said the public hearings will likely happen at a later date due to some board members being away on the 13th.
In a rare occurrence for the five-member board, the vote was split, with trustees Owen Brooks, Jr. and Michael O’Neill voting against all four resolutions.
Brooks said the proposed project is “too much, too soon” and he can’t support it, estimating that the new complex would result in a 114% increase in rental units in the village.
“I think pushing this program in the direction that we are with potential zoning changes could end up creating issues for the village,” he said.
Trustee Thomas Whalen voted for the measures but said he is “on the fence” about the development and wants to hear more from residents.
Siry told Newsday on Wednesday that AvalonBay first approached the village with their proposal nearly a year ago and have submitted several revised plans based on village officials and resident concerns from a half-dozen small-group meetings. Siry said he feels the village “needs to move along” with the process, citing residents' desire to further revitalize the village’s downtown. Amityville last year was awarded $10 million by the state to fund 11 projects to help its revitalization.
Siry said AvalonBay is “not a fly by night contractor,” noting the company's apartment complexes in other municipalities.
“You’ve got to have that leap of faith and do it and hope for the best,” Siry said. “...I can pretty firmly say from what I’ve seen with other villages it has definitely improved their downtown areas.”
A handful of residents at the meeting spoke in favor of delaying the public hearing.
“We don’t know yet what the impact of all of this is going to be on the fire department, the police department and the rest of the village,” said resident Jeffrey Erath. “Yes the village needs to try and grow our downtown . . . but with the amount of units going in there now, it’s a whole new ballgame.”
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
