Nassau IDA grants tax breaks to Westbury apartment complex, with 12% for affordable housing
A rendering of the Westbury apartment building that is slated to go up on Linden Avenue, replacing a series of empty commercial buildings. Credit: Alpine Residential LLC
The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency has granted tax breaks for a planned $97 million housing development near the LIRR station in Westbury.
The developer, Hicksville-based Alpine Residential, will build 187 units in the Village of Westbury’s transit-oriented development zone. The developer will set aside 23 of the apartments, or about 12% of them, for affordable housing.
The Nassau IDA approved a 20-year tax incentive package that includes a sales tax exemption of up to $1.7 million as well as a mortgage tax exemption of up to $434,301.
“It does take another significant portion of that property and poises it for a redevelopment, which will clean up a big chunk of that property that's close to the train station,” Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro said in an interview. “I think they want to do the right thing by the community. That was the whole purpose of doing the rezoning, was to get redevelopment that's beneficial to the community."
The apartment complex, which will replace commercial buildings on Linden Avenue between Union Avenue and Scally Place, is the latest part of a plan to restore a blighted area full of stone yards and truck yards. In 2023, the Cornerstone Westbury opened with 140 units on Railroad Avenue.
Todd Schefler, managing partner for Alpine Residential, said in an interview that demolition of the existing buildings on the site should start by September or October, with construction expected to begin around December or January.
The tax breaks were key to making the “project viable," Schefler said in an interview on Wednesday. "We worked closely with the village on the process, and the IDA ... Now we can go forward with demolition,” he said. “It’s been a long three years.”
William Rockensies, chairman of the Nassau IDA, said in a statement the building will “create new opportunities for current and future Nassau County residents.” The agency approved the breaks on June 26.
“The housing stock in Nassau County is extremely limited given the high-demand of our area,” Rockensies said in the statement. “This development not only reinvests in the community by restoring a blighted property, but its close proximity to the LIRR train station will make this location a housing destination for those residents who rely on mass transit for work and leisure.”
Cavallaro said there are no active proposals for other redevelopment projects in the zone. The state named the Village of Westbury a pro-housing community in August 2024. The designation rewards municipalities that have grown their housing stock and enables them to access state funding geared toward revitalizing local communities.
Alpine is also constructing a mixed-use development by Hicksville's LIRR station.
Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
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