Oyster Bay weighing final approvals for $200M Hicksville mall redevelopment

Town of Oyster Bay officials are weighing the final approvals of a $200 million redevelopment of the mall in Hicksville.

The developer of the project needs multiple variances from the town's zoning board of appeals to move forward, including approvals to have fewer parking spaces than town code requires and to allow businesses to operate later into the evening. Some neighbors spoke at a zoning board hearing Thursday evening and raised concerns over quality of life issues that could be worsened by the new mall. 

The project aims to transform the Broadway Mall to the Shops on Broadway, an overhaul that will serve as "a reimagination and redevelopment of the property" into an open-air shopping center, Bram Weber, an attorney for the developer of the project, K/BTF Broadway LLC, said at the hearing.

To move forward, the project needs to secure five key variances for the redevelopment, which Weber said are the final hurdles for the proposal. 

The plan will need approvals to have fewer parking spots than town code allows. The mall currently has 4,848 parking spots, but the new proposal includes 4,092 spaces. Town code requires 8,315 spots at the site. Civic leaders have said parking is not a problem at the mall, even during peak hours. The project's traffic engineer, Frank Filiciotto, said a study of the property on a busy Saturday found fewer than 1,400 spots in use. Even projections including new businesses would leave about 1,800 empty spaces, Filiciotto said. 

The developer is seeking a variance to allow new businesses, like a movie theater, to operate until 1 a.m., matching the existing rules for Round1 Bowling & Arcade. Weber said the project is also looking to allow businesses to operate as early as 5 a.m., which is one hour earlier than currently allowed. 

It is looking for an architectural variance to build 52 feet high. An arched canopy over the mall will be nearly 53 feet. The Macy's building, which would be torn down as part of the project, is 85 feet high. 

Lastly, the developer is looking for variances to allow parking below a planned 90,000-square-foot second-level Ikea expansion, and a lighting approval to allow fixtures higher than local rules allow. 

The board said it plans to vote on the variances at its next meeting Oct. 22.

Residents spoke at the hearing, including some who raised concerns over parking. 

Claudia Heumann, who lives near the mall, said she supports the redevelopment but doesn't like that the proposal includes a BJ's Wholesale and a gas station. Heumann also said she was concerned about parking. 

"We're a quiet neighborhood," Heumann said. "We'd like to keep it that way."

The zoning board of appeals should deny the request to lower parking requirements, said William Cheslock, a neighbor of the property. 

Joel Berse, past president of the Northwest Civic Association, praised the ownership of the property for being sensitive to community requests. 

"The plan is good," Berse said. "The idea is good."

The current president of the civic association, Jeff Negron, said the mall redevelopment team has been present at multiple meetings and modified its initial 2024 proposal for the site. 

Part of the plan involves knocking down the vacant 300,000-square-foot former Macy’s department store and other retail space. The new mall will be 1.3 million square feet. The proposal includes an expansion of the existing Ikea and the creation of a new BJ's Wholesale and a fueling station.

The developer pitched that plan to the Oyster Bay Town Board in September, which drew support. The town approved the site plan and the request for a fueling station. 

For years, the mall has struggled with vacancy issues. Macy's closed in 2020, and Old Navy left the site in 2023. 

The Town of Oyster Bay is in the process of revitalizing the area surrounding Hicksville's busy Long Island Rail Road station. Multiple mixed-use developments are billed for the area, including one property that has opened its housing lottery. Last year, the town began a multimillion dollar project to improve walkability around the transportation hub and create pedestrian areas under the railroad trestle. 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ

Joseph Ostapiuk covers the Town of Oyster Bay and the city of Glen Cove. He joined Newsday in 2023 after spending more than six years at the Staten Island Advance.