Long Beach condo towers plan at Hebrew Academy site moves forward
Developers plan to build two condo towers at the former site of the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, seen here on Tuesday. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Two long-planned condo towers in Long Beach are inching closer to a final public hearing after the developers scaled back their proposals.
Developers 73rd Meridian Partners want to build two eight-story towers, with 106 condominium units, at the former Hebrew Academy of Long Beach. The latest plans come a decade after the developers first proposed building two 15-story towers on the 530 W. Broadway site between Lindell and Washington Boulevards.
The developers plan to build 16 one-bedroom, 42 two-bedroom and 48 three-bedroom units, plus a central amenity building situated between the two towers with a club and fitness center, according to the project’s environmental impact statement.
The oceanfront neighborhood of Long Beach has seen an abundance of new development in the past five years, including hundreds of new condos and rental units at the Superblock property and infrastructure upgrades to protect the area from storms, Newsday reported.
The Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals board plans to hold a hearing on 73rd Meridian Partners' proposal later this year, though it has not yet been scheduled, Long Beach City spokesman John McNally said. The Nassau County Planning Commission reviewed the project at the beginning of June, according to commission meeting minutes.
The development group, which includes Connecticut-based Wittek Development , proposed scaled-down plans for two nine-story buildings in 2020, Newsday reported. Originally, the group had proposed building two 15-story towers in 2016, according to the project’s environmental impact statement.
Residents concerned about overdevelopment opposed both proposals at the time, Newsday reported.
But the shorter towers are now “within 10 feet of the actual height” of neighboring buildings, said Greg Kalnitsky, corporation counsel for the City of Long Beach.
“It’s a much different project than what once was,” Kalnitsky said.
Kurt Wittek, a principal of Wittek Development, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A representative for Sackman Enterprises, which shares a Manhattan address with 73rd Meridian Partners, did not respond to a request for comment.
